Xmen Reborn: Brave New World
by Phoenix901
Summary: As the world is shaken by violent radicals the Brotherhood of Mutants, a young girl just discovering her powers is caught up in the conflict between Teacher and Tyrant. Final chapters are up!
1. Those Men On TV

**X-men: Reborn**

_Brave New World Part 1 of 5_

– Those Men On TV –

"Mandy?"

Just a flash: brief, but encouraging.

"Mandy, are you ok? Dinner's ready,"

A more sustained effort this time. Tiny wisps of energy danced around Mandy's fingers for a second before vanishing.

One more go before dinner.

"Amanda? What exactly are you doing up there that is so important you can't answer me?"

Miniscule and yet star-bright, an orb of energy stuttered into life between Mandy's cupped hands. As before, little sparks were born of it, and as they zipped up her arms, the tiny little light grew larger. But the sound of footsteps and a rapping on the 16-year-old's bedroom door brought Mandy back to her senses, and she clasped her hands together, extinguishing her creation, just as her mother called out:

"Amanda, why don't you answer me?"

Mandy sprung up from her bed where she lay, and pulled the door open. Her mother, a short, thin-faced woman, stood on the threshold – a mixture of anger and worry on her.

"What exactly are you up to in there?"

Mandy was quick in her reply: "Nothing." Before her mum could speak again, Mandy brushed past her and down the stairs to dinner.

The meal would have been awkward if not for the fact they were watching _Eastenders_. Her mother was enraptured by the program as usual, her father almost equally disinterested. Mandy herself paid attention half heartedly, but she found it hard to remain interested in things as dull as extra-marital affairs and who's doing who's laundry. Besides, all those people were _normal_.

A few weeks ago, Mandy would have said she was normal too. But then she discovered she was quite different, not even human. She was, as that disabled American man said on TV, a _homo mutatis_, one of a new race of mankind commonly called mutants. But was he right? There was that other man, the terrorist, who said mutants were _homo superior _and the next logical step in evolution, destined in inherit the earth from man. Mandy felt some shame when she thought of this guy. When he first broadcast live to America after the terrible bombings in Los Angeles to claim responsibility for them, she, like everyone else, hated him. To her, he was some old guy in a helmet going the wrong way about advertising his own little minority. He was just another Osama Bin Laden as far as she was concerned. And yet she had nothing to do with mutants and didn't know any, so while the bombings were tragic, she wasn't particularly interested in the topic. When this guy's group, the Brotherhood of Mutants, bombed JFK airport, Mandy felt completely different.

It wasn't because the place had more significance to her or any relatives had been there, it was because of an incident less than twenty-four hours earlier. She had been stressing over her imminent exams, and to top it all off her granddad had just passed away. She had been sobbing silently into her pillow for over an hour when she felt something prickle her face. Mandy was a curious girl, and although many might have dismissed it as a hair, she felt there was more to it than that. She lifted her head up in time to see the slightest thread of something resembling electricity circle her arm and disappear. That had been her first hint that she may be one of those mutants everyone seemed to love or loathe. At first, she was excited, and experimented more to see what she could do. Then, later that day, the news came to Britain that America had been attacked by the Brotherhood for a second time. The realisation hit her in seconds: she couldn't tell anyone about this. Mandy had just entered a whole new world that was vastly more dangerous – but possibly more thrilling – than anything she had ever known before.

"How was school today, Mandy?" said her dad as she poked at her carrots unenthusiastically.

"Alright I guess," it hadn't: the popular girls had picked on her yet again. What would be the good of her telling her dad though? He would only tell her to talk to a teacher, who would ultimately do nothing. Sometimes, Mandy wished she could find a way of turning her "powers" on those girls, but then again, that would reveal herself to everyone and open a whole new can of worms. She couldn't bear loosing the precious few friends she had.

"Good, that's what I like to here," replied Dad, "How long to your exams now?"

"I've had three already," said Mandy with a little more bitterness than intended.

"Ah I remember. So that's why you've been in your room so much? Revising?"

"Yeah," said Mandy simply.

"Would you both be quiet? We're meant to be watching this you know," snapped her mother. Mandy sighed. This was all that was needed, the spark for the flame.

"Maybe we'd know what our daughter was doing more if we didn't watch this shit every dinnertime," snarled Dad.

"How are we meant to keep up if we don't watch it!" returned Mum, her voice shrill.

"I don't give a –"

Mandy bolted the rest of her dinner and left. She wasn't interested, and didn't need to hear another argument. When she got back to her room, she flicked on the TV. She should be revising in all actuality, but she didn't feel like it.

The bald professor of mutation was on TV again. It was a documentary on the Los Angeles attacks and he was just another on of those "talking heads" that filled the time in those sort of programs.

_"Magneto sees things in black and white. In his eyes, either humans or mutants must dominate the planet. He fails to see that the two species can co-exist quite peacefully,"_

How many times Mandy had read or heard that man state that mutants and humans could "co-exist" in the last few weeks she didn't know, but she was beginning to get tired of it. She really couldn't see how, especially with that mad terrorist blowing everyone up. No body in their right mind is going to love mutants while they continue to declare war on humans. That was all the worst for Mandy. She didn't know how long it would be before someone discovered realised she was one of them. When they did…she shuddered to think about what would happen.

_"My sympathy goes to all those young mutants out there who Magneto has scared into firmly remaining hidden,"_

God, it was like this guy was psychic or something.

* * *

A few days later, her exams over, Mandy's parents decided to take her on a weekend away to London. The relationship with her parents had been degrading ever since she discovered her mutation. Her father was extremely anti-mutant, and her mother followed suit, causing a great resentment in Mandy, albeit an unspoken one. Their prejudice was totally unfounded in anything but ignorance and faceless fear; they only hated mutants because Magneto had made those threats. It drove her father livid, as threats by any secular group always did. He was very much a man with ideals of freedom and atheism, a mainstream, run-of-the-mill, opinionated, salesman. Nothing anyone could say would dissuade him of his views

When they got to London, Mandy was still not talking to her father if she could help it, which didn't make the trip to Madame Tussaud's particularly successful. The anti-mutant protest-taking place nearby didn't help things. As they stood in the queue for tickets, a large number of the protesters strolled on by down the street. Mandy flushed at the sight of them – even though there was nothing physically different about her, she kept on thinking that any moment someone would accuse her of being a mutant. The protesters also sparked a deluge of anti-mutant grumbling from her father, which only served to harden the current dislike Mandy had for him.

The day passed quite quickly; Mandy liked seeing all the delicately made waxworks, and they had a nice lunch in a café nearby. It was approaching rush hour when they returned to the tube station, and the number of people around them seemed to be multiplying by the minute. As Mandy's mum fiddled in her purse for their tickets to get through the barriers, Mandy noticed a very odd man standing perfectly still in the corner of the room, about ten feet from her. He was dressed in a grey suit with a high collar, and appeared to be looking directly at Mandy. She caught her breath; those cold, piercing blue eyes were like knives cleaving through her head, straight into her mind…immediately she thought he must know. Why else would he be looking at her? He had to know she was a mutant. Mandy barely noticed her mother tap her gently on the shoulder, but all the same, it gave her the power she needed to look away from the mysterious man.

"Come on, we're off," called her mother, and Mandy followed, casting her head around as she did so to see if she could catch sight of the man again, but he was gone. Before she knew it, Mandy was through the barriers and walking briskly along side her parents down the tunnel to the platform. As they went down one of the dizzyingly steep escalators, she suddenly heard a clear and resonant voice say:

_Do not get on the train._

Mandy blinked. Even though the voice was not particularly loud, she could hear it perfectly, as if the person, a male it sounded like, was speaking in her ear. It spoke again:

_Do not get on the train, or you and your parents will die._

Fear rose up within her like water flooding from a burst pipe and she gripped the clammy railing of the escalator for dear life. The man's voice had not sounded like a threat, but more of a warning. Then she remembered that people around her must have been able to hear it as well, and she leaned forward to talk to her mum on the step below.

"Are we still getting on the train?" she whispered, trying to sound calm.

"What?" replied her mother, bemused by the question.

"That…voice, didn't you hear it? It told us not to get on the train or–"

"Voice? What?"

Mandy's fear doubled in a heartbeat. Her mother had heard nothing. Looking around, she noticed no one else looked even slightly concerned. No, she alone had heard the voice. A crazy thought went through her head: was it God? Mandy had never been religious, but then again, she had never heard a voice so clearly that no one else had heard.

"Mum, we can't get on the train," said Mandy, leaning forward again. Seconds later they were off the escalator, "Mum?"

"What?"

"We can't get on this train!" Mandy was desperately trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible, for fear of being singled out and branded a troublemaker. The little complex of tunnels leading to various platforms they were now in was packed; a group of Japanese tourists clutching rucksacks and cameras barged past her.

"Mandy, what's going on?" said her dad.

"We mustn't get on that train…or we'll…we'll…we just can't get on it!"

"Why?" asked her mother shrilly, confusion etched on her face.

"I've just got a feeling…" begun Mandy, but she trailed off – what would they think if she told them about a voice only she heard?

"C'mon," said her father brusquely, grabbing Mandy's hand. She struggled against him in vain, torn between not wanting to cause a scene and obeying the mysterious warning. One great tug from her father pulled Mandy to her feet and senses: there was no point in fighting; she wouldn't beat him this way. Sullen and as slow as possible she followed her parents to the platform in time to see the train they had intended to catch pull out of the enclosed cylindrical station. Her father swore loudly, before swiftly turning on Mandy.

"Why do you always play these silly little games?" he snarled. The Japanese tourists who had passed Mandy earlier, now the only other people left on the platform, stared at them. Fortunately for Mandy, this caused her mother, who hated receiving any public attention at all, to intervene.

"Stop it," she said, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder, "They'll be another train along in a few minutes."

Despite this fact however, the tourists at the other end of the platform made for the exit. They were a curious bunch Mandy thought – one was enormously fat and the slinkier of the two women wore the strangest pair of scarlet earrings she had ever seen. Just as they were disappearing from sight, the woman in the earrings made a sudden, jerky movement with her hand, and a deep, rumbling boom issued from some way off down the tunnel where the train had gone. Seconds later, and a storm cloud of smoke streamed toward them. The three of them backed towards the exit and shielded their mouths.

"What is going on?" said Mandy's mum nervously. Mandy herself had a dreadful feeling she did know what had just happened.

"Look!" shouted her father, pointing in the direction of the smoke. The shimmering silhouette of a man appeared and then there he was, stumbling towards them, wearing a torn and bloody business suit.

"Bomb," he coughed, "Bomb on the train…" Mandy's dad rushed forwards to help him up onto the platform just as a wave of medics and officials came pouring out of the entrance and surrounded them all with a cacophony of questions and other panicked speech.

Outside on the busy London street, a group of six Japanese tourists strode away from the tube station they had just bombed. The women leading the group, wearing black studded earrings, laughed.

"A complete success, no?" she said to the group at large.

"We have yet to get out of here, Raven," said the man behind her, whom she saw as wearing a high collared grey outfit. Of course, everyone else saw him as a short and stocky Japanese man wearing a Hawaiian shirt, "Excellent cover by the way, Mastermind," he nodded to the person on his left, who was tall with a silver ponytail and dark glasses. He didn't answer; he was concentrating on keeping the vast number of people surrounding them under the illusion they were all innocent tourists. A wave of panic was passing through the crowd; the realisation that the capital had just been victim to a terrorist attack was sinking in and spreading. The women called Raven laughed.

"I love to see the Sapiens' little lives come to a stand still," she cackled. The thin young man next to her smiled meekly. In direct contrast, the woman in scarlet by his side looked like she might be sick. Their enormously fat colleague who lumbered along in the rear simply gave a rumbling chortle.

Presently they reached a van parked about half a mile away from the station, and piled in. At last, Mastermind's illusion dropped and they could be seen as normal again. Raven was revealed as a slinky woman with azure skin, windswept ruby red hair and glimmering yellow eyes. Of course, her ability to shapeshift meant that no one except her colleagues were familiar with this default form. Whether it was a mark of reverence for the act they had just committed, or because they didn't get on with one another, there was no talking in the van as they drove off. It would be a long journey home back to headquarters, but for the Brotherhood of Mutants, it didn't matter. Their mission was accomplished.

* * *

The next day was Sunday, and considering the horrors of the previous day, Mandy and her parents were glad there was no work or school to attend. Her mother had not spoken much, which unfortunately couldn't be said for her father. When Magneto had broadcast only a few hours after the attack took place, Mandy's dad burst into a bombardment of abuse that almost drowned out the mutant terrorist's chilling words:

_"Let this be a warning to all the nations of the world who oppress mutants. The Brotherhood will not cease its actions until control of the superpowers is handed over to us. Understand Homo Sapiens that you're dominance of this world is coming to an end: the time of the mutant has come!"_

Mandy herself was shaken up pretty badly; not only because of the bombings, but also because of the mysterious voice that had saved her from them. It had served as a harsh reminder of her mortality, not to mention how dangerous the current atmosphere was for her kind. Though she would deny it to friends and family, she had to accept she was a mutant and pretty soon someone was going to find out.

Late that afternoon, while her parents were out shopping, Mandy heard the front doorbell ring and following it a swift but brief knock. Grumbling to herself that it better not be her parents forgetting to take the front door key again, she trotted down the stairs and opened the door a little. Before her stood a tall, important looking woman with high cheek bones and – most oddly – hair a shade of deep purple.

"Good afternoon," she said, smiling with bright white teeth, "I'm Elizabeth Braddock, Social Services,"

Mandy stiffened, a creeping voice at the back of her hand telling her why this woman was here. "Do you want my mu- I mean, Mr and Mrs Exton?"

"Oh no. I'm here to see Miss Amanda Exton. Is that you?" There was something compelling in the woman's dark eyes that told Mandy she didn't have much to fear from her.

"Erm, yes," said Mandy nervously, "Do you want to come in,"

The woman gave another broad smile, "Lovely,"

Ten minutes later the pair were sat in the kitchen, Ms Braddock, who insisted Mandy call her Betsy, with a steaming cup of tea and Mandy a glass of water. The woman was taking out several pieces of paper from her briefcase. Presently, she looked up, straightened her skirt, and spoke,

"Well, Mandy, I'm here today for one reason really. It's recently come to our attention that you possess the mutant gene."

Mandy nearly choked on her water. Her face was etched with fear, unable to speak.

"It's ok!" continued Betsy quickly, "You've done nothing wrong. The government isn't in the business of hurting mutants."

"But…" stammered Mandy, "What about all the stuff on television?"

Betsy closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly in exasperation, "A lot of what is being presented about mutants by the media is untrue and not reflective of the governments stance on the mutant phenomena. There are no discriminative laws against mutants in this country,"

"But…" Mandy began again, "Why are you here then?"

"To make you an offer," smiled Betsy, pushing a piece of paper towards her, "The government is looking to help young mutants come to terms with their abilities. So, they're setting up a group for people like you to join."

Mandy looked at the form on the table. Printed in bold across the top was _EXCALIBUR_. She hesitated before answering.

"What…why me?"

"Because you are just the sort of person Excalibur needs," answered Betsy, "A bright young girl who is itching to learn about the gifts she's been given."

Mandy narrowed her eyes, "How did you know that? I never said I wanted to learn about my powers!"

Betsy gave a warm, comprehending smile.

You're not the only one with powers.

Mandy shot up in surprise. It was just like at the station – a voice, clear and resonant – but this time it was Betsy's voice. She couldn't have spoken, her lips hadn't moved.

"H-how?" asked Mandy, trembling so much she had to grab the table for support.

_I'm a telepath,_ came the bodiless voice again, _that's how I know about you._

"You're psychic?" asked Mandy, a hint of her trademark curiosity in her tone. She stared at Betsy in disbelief. But before she had time to answer, the front door clicked and Mandy's mum and dad walked in, each laden down with bags of shopping.

"Hello!" called Mandy's mum cheerfully before she caught sight of Betsy sitting at the table, visible from the hallway. Her manner changed instantly. "Who are you?"

Betsy rose, straightened her skirt and strode towards Mrs Exton, "Elizabeth Braddock, social services," She stretched out a hand, but it was not taken.

"Social services?" said the much harsher voice of Mandy's dad. Mandy, who had yet to be seen by either parent, cringed, and then suddenly realised – _what if Betsy tells them about me being a mutant?_

"What have you done with our daughter?" blustered Mr Exton just as Mandy emerged into the hall.

"Amanda!" cried her mother, "Do you mind telling me exactly what is going on here? Who is this woman?"

"She's…she's…" began Mandy, but no ideas came to her.

"From Social Services, like I said," finished Betsy, sounding impatient, "Your daughter has done nothing wrong. In fact, she's done the opposite. She's achieved the top mark for her Biology GCSE in the country,"

All three of them stared at Betsy.

_Just play along,_ Betsy whispered to Mandy telepathically.

"Yeah, yeah, the best in the country," said Mandy quickly, albeit a little unconvincingly.

"But I thought you hate science?" asked her mother.

"Well, obviously, she has an aptitude for it even if that is the case Mrs Exton," said Betsy, "I am very sorry but I really must be going now however. Your daughter will receive written notification of her achievement shortly. Good day," She retrieved her jacket and briefcase briskly and before any of them could say or do anything, Betsy was out the door.

Seconds later, Mandy's father had rounded on his daughter – "What in God's name was THAT?"

* * *

The argument was brief but turbulent. Mandy's father simply didn't buy Betsy's excuse, and to Mandy's general annoyance, her mother proved exceptionally good at picking holes in it as well.

_"Social services don't deal with exam matters!"_ she had shrieked,_ "And did you see her hair? The council wouldn't employ her!"_

Mandy had to admit, now that she was sitting in the safety of her room perusing the form Betsy had given her, it did seem a bit suspicious. This Excalibur group sounded scarily militant and there was a slight edge of tackiness about the form that suggested it was not an official document. Still, it did seem an enticing offer – albeit one that somehow still was not reality, only a distant childhood fantasy.

A knock on the front door from downstairs caused Mandy to stir from her musings. She glanced up at the time. It was nearly 11pm, who could be knocking at this time? Moments later Mandy heard the door open and then – to her utter horror – a gunshot. Her breathing became unnaturally rapid within seconds.

A scream, another gunshot: Mandy's pulse was racing. Stinging bites of terrible thought attacked her. She couldn't think about what had just happened. What _might _have just happened? Then everything got worse: she could hear someone coming up the stairs.

Instinct guiding her more than anything, she cupped her hands together and concentrated harder than every before. Her heart pounding in her ears, feet pounding on the landing, breath pounding out of her, there was no time. Barely a flicker had passed between her fingers when the door burst open and two men in black suits appeared. Mandy pressed herself up against a wall as one of them pointed a handgun at her.

"You are Amanda Exton?" the man asked. There was no emotion in his voice.

"Yes," said Mandy very quietly. She gazed up at him, wondering why he hadn't shot her. The other man lunged forward. Although Mandy jumped at this he only snatched up the form Betsy had given her. The two men exchanged a significant look.

"Amanda Exton," said the man with the gun, "You have been found guilty of involvement with the illicit activities of the known terrorist organisation the Brotherhood of Mutants. By the authority of Her Majesty's Government, you are under arrest,"

The gun fired…but death didn't greet Mandy. She looked down at her chest and saw a syringe dart protruding from it. Things were getting darker, and darker, and hazier, and the men were coming for her, and…everything went black.


	2. The Tyrant and the Teacher

X-men: Reborn

**X-men: Reborn**

_Brave New World Part 2 of 5_

– The Tyrant and the Teacher–

With only the slightest hint of a sound, the doors slid apart and open. A man, tall and cloaked, entered the chamber. It was dark despite the huge observation window that looked down upon the messy blue and white sphere of Planet Earth. The room was composed entirely of metal, giving it a cold and rather sinister feel. The man walked forward a few paces and then stopped – the balcony ended and plunged downward into nothingness. Instead, he slowly levitated upwards and across the abyss to the opposite walkway, upon which there was an angular throne that faced the window. Just visible in the half-light was the shape of another man, hunched low upon the throne.

"What is it?" came a low, deep voice from the shadow on the throne.

"It is done my lord," replied the cloaked man, "Just as you instructed,"

"Excellent," said the other, after a pause. He rose from the throne and strode closer to the window. A long cape billowed after him, and the silhouette of his head bulged with the helmet he wore, "Was the carnage as we expected, Superpsycke?"

"There was certainly a great deal of chaos," said the cloaked man, moving more into the light shed by the window. His deep, piercing blue eyes shone in the gloom, "The French Government did not expect us to attack them. They were complacent."

"Like all of their kind," sneered Magneto, "But it surprises me they were stupid enough not to suspect an attack, after passing that abominable law,"

"I fear that other nations will follow their example," said Superpsycke.

"And that is why we made an example of France," retorted Magneto, his powerful voice resonating around the chamber, "They must learn that homo superior are not beasts of burden that can simply be registered and catalogued. You realise Britain has ceased talks of a Registration Act since you successfully led the bombing on their underground rail system,"

Superpsycke fidgeted uncomfortably, "I am still not entirely happy with attacking Britain my lord. You agreed-"

"We can make no exceptions in this war. To whom exactly do you give your loyalty – your country or your people? To Britain, or to me?"

"To you my lord,"

Magneto smiled in his helmet, enjoying the fact Superpsycke wouldn't know he was he so smug. It was ironic that if Magneto wasn't wearing the helmet, Superpsycke very easily could tell his thoughts, considering he was telepathic, as well as telekinetic. But the helmet proved a great asset to the Master of Magnetism, blocking all psychic intrusion.

"Good. I had wondered, what with your act of heroism during the operation,"

"Master…I have explained. All I did was warn the girl. She was a mutant,"

"As you keep saying. But there are many mutants I'm sure whom you have encountered on missions. Why save this girl?"

"I glimpsed her future. She will be powerful,"

"And so that is why you told Psylocke about her?"

Superpsycke stirred sharply and looked straight at Magneto, "How did you know?"

Magneto gave a brief arrogant chortle, "What sort of leader would I be if I wasn't aware of what was transpiring in my own organisation? I may remain up here on Asteroid M while you and Psylocke lead the active teams, but that does not mean I am blind and powerless,"

"I am sorry my lord…"

Magneto laughed again, "Superpsycke, I am not against recruiting new members, but I would prefer you inform me first,"

"The girl will be powerful…"

"Does it matter? She has disappeared."

"We shall find her, my lord,"

"Concentrate on finding our own first. Have you located our missing Brothers yet?"

Superpsycke bowed his head, "No my lord. They are out of my range,"

Magneto turned slowly to face his second-in-command, "Then we have no choice. Access will be arranged for you. I shall descend and confront Xavier myself, that should provide ample distraction,"

"Very well, my lord."

Superpsycke turned and began to levitate once again as Magneto resumed his surveying of the Earth. The master of magnetism's plan for humanity was unfolding. Soon, very soon, the first countries would fall. It would be checkmate for Homo sapiens, and victory for Homo superior. The only person standing in his way was Xavier. But even he could not stop him now.

* * *

Mandy's dreams were dark – full of screams and gunshots and men in black suits. Yet her slumber was deep, and for a while she was trapped in this nightmare realm. Then, she awoke.

The first thing she noticed, other than the bitter cold, was how small the room she was in actually was. It was like being inside a box, trapped and confined with only the most vague clue to the outside world. She lay on a hard metal bench that jutted out from the wall, filling the majority of the cell. Adjacent was a slatted window through which came the only source of light. Mandy guessed it was early morning.

Trying to get up, she failed as her head swam and the room along with it. There was a pounding in her ears that told her she had the worst migraine ever. Slowly she got to her feet and looked out the window. Her breath caught as she realised where she was.

A vast blue horizon stretched before her eyes, unimaginably endless. Without knowing how, without knowing why, Mandy was at sea. Now it came to it, she could smell a certain briny odour she had only encountered before on trips to the seaside, in what felt like an age ago. Before she had been a mutant.

The door behind her creaked and swung open. As Mandy spun around in shock, she took in the sight of a very tall and prissy looking woman in a naval uniform. Her eyebrows seemed to be placed unusually high upon her head, giving her a look of constant disproval.

Stepping into the cell, the woman spoke crisply: "Sit down please,"

Mandy, too scared to even think about disobeying, did as she was told.

"My name is Erin Partise and I am in command on this ship, the H.M.S. Purity," said the woman, looming over the cowering Mandy, "As you are aware, you have been convicted of cooperating with the Brotherhood of Mutants. Due to this, you have been detained indefinitely. This ship serves as a mobile prison for S.T.R.I.K.E., the official counter-terrorist organisation for Her Majesty's government. You will follow instructions at all times and be subject to a series of interviews. Do I make myself clear?"

Mandy hardly knew what to say – she felt a deadening in her heart as the woman spoke, and also a great deal of confusion. As far as she was aware, she had never had any dealings with the Brotherhood. Was the mysterious Betsy and the voice at the tube station something to do with all this?

Finally she found a voice, and asked a question buried deep in her worries, "What's happened to my parents?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you," answered Erin curtly, and made to leave, "You will be taken to the social quarters for food shortly," With that, she exited and closed the door behind her.

Mandy did not have a good feeling about her parent's whereabouts and safety, and she tried to bury the hunch she already had. After what felt like a very long time, the door opened again and a burly uniformed man stepped in to escort her to what she imagined was breakfast. The corridor was equally freezing and Mandy clutched her arms as she followed the officer. She suddenly noticed she was still wearing the same clothing she had worn when she had been captured. What exactly was going on?

Another heavy steel door was thrown open in front of her and she was led into a vast, but surprisingly empty, chamber. The only occupants were a group of three people sitting at a table in the middle of the room, as well as the guards stationed next to every entry and exit. Mandy's own escort led her over to the table, and sat her down next to the others, in front of a bowl of beige sludge that she guessed was her breakfast. Glancing up nervously, she took in the appearance of her companions. The woman in front of her was thin and haughty, with combed back dirty blonde hair and a bored expression.

"Regan Wyngarde," said the blonde woman, sticking out her hand, "But call me Lady Mastermind. You are?"

"Mand– Amanda," replied Mandy quietly, "Amanda Exton,"

Next to Regan was a man Mandy could only describe as disgusting. He was perched low on his seat, slurping up his breakfast with an unusually long and elastic tongue. There was a sickly green pallor to his skin, and his eyes bulged from his head in what might have been excitement.

"This," said Lady Mastermind, with understandable apprehension, "this is Toad."

Mandy was duly presented with a filthy webbed hand. "Nice to meet yer," grunted Toad, in an accent not too dissimilar from cockney, "An' what's yer real name?"

"Real name?" repeated Mandy, confused.

"Yer!" cried Toad, lapping up more of his breakfast with a snap of his tongue, "Like, what do yer _want_ to be called? I ain't called Mortimer by no one 'cept my old man, anyone who knows me calls me Toad,"

"Oh," said Mandy quietly. The thought of adopting a false name had never once crossed her mind, "well, I don't really know."

"What can yer do? We called that one over there 'Marrow' 'cos bones stick out of 'er. Geddit?" Toad tossed his head towards the third person sitting at the table, a small but harsh faced girl with sharp pale protrusions emerging from her temple and shoulders. She was glaring with disturbing intensity at Toad.

"Oh leave them alone, Toad," said Lady Mastermind scathingly. Toad looked stricken, and began to protest, but seemed to realise it was in vain, and stuttered into silence.

Presently, Toad spoke again, "So, why are yer here then?"

There was a long pause while Mandy found words to answer this enquiry. She wasn't exactly clear why she this was happening to her.

"Come on, I ain't got all day," croaked Toad irritably.

"I really don't know, I'm sorry," said Mandy, "They've told me I've been arrested for being a part of the Brotherhood of Mutants, but I'm not."

Lady Mastermind and Toad exchanged knowing looks. "Well, that's a shame, because we were arrested for that exact same reason," said Lady Mastermind.

"Only, we really _are _part of 'em," added Toad.

"I'm not," came Marrow's growling voice for the first time, "The only reason I've ended up stuck on this bastard ship is because of this creepy frog guy had me kidnapped when the government people got him and his bitch,"

"Hold on, hold on! We were saving you!" protested Toad.

"Get lost frog breath," retorted Marrow, rising and storming off towards the other end of the room.

Lady Mastermind leaned forward and spoke quietly to Mandy, "She was being experimented on. Our field leader discovered this and dispatched Toad and I to rescue her. Unfortunately, the S.T.R.I.K.E. agents who had been hunting our team managed to catch up with us just before we made good our escape,"

Mandy watched Marrow at the other end of the room stomping about like a moody teenager. It seemed odd behaviour for a situation such as this – trapped on a ship in the middle of nowhere. Mandy felt just empty, helpless, hopeless. She was more likely to be sick than to throw a strop. She guessed that was just her.

"So," began Mandy, voicing a question that intrigued her. Even the present situation could not entirely kill her curiosity, "You know Magneto?"

Both Toad and Lady Mastermind gave Mandy very serious looks. Lady Mastermind opened her mouth to speak, but Toad cut across her – "course I do! I was in the main team not so long ago,"

"Toad…" warned Lady Mastermind in a low voice. He paid no heed to it however.

"But some of the decisions Magneto was making weren't no good. And he heard me badmouthing Superpsycke – that's his second in command – and next thing I know I'm stuck on some grotty Scottish island with the second stringers,"

"Toad, I don't think Magneto would appreciate you shooting your mouth off to a complete stranger," growled Lady Mastermind, more forceful in her second attempt. Toad was deaf to her objections once again.

"That Superpsycke's a piece of work. He's so bloody loyal to Magneto it makes ya sick. I dunno what happened there, but 'Psycke owes Magneto big time. Weird, 'cos Superpsycke's probably a lot more powerful than him…"

"Toad!" snapped Lady Mastermind in a voice that made the guards look round at them and raise their weapons, "That is _enough_."

Then, at that exact moment, there was an almighty roar and the whole room rocked violently. As the lights flickered, there was a sound like air being pushed very suddenly out of a bottle, and Mandy looked round to see a thin blue man with a tail standing next to the purple-haired Elizabeth Braddock in the midst of a pale wreath of smoke.

_It's time to get you out of here,_ said Betsy in Mandy's head, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

Professor Charles Xavier was already stressed and the meeting had yet to even begin. Sat at the end of a long table full of government officials and their minions, the bald man in his late forties rubbed his forehead. Migraines were not good for him. The room was filled with the low buzz of hushed conversation, and yet no one was talking to Xavier. He did not have to be the world's most accomplished telepath to realise that these men harboured a great deal of animosity towards him.

To them he was as bad as Magneto, a pain brought on by the increasingly loathed mutant phenomenon, albeit a less violent one. Xavier wondered just how many of them knew that he too was actually a mutant – he suspected quite a lot of them. Despite the fact there was little to mark him out as different to them, except maybe his need for a wheelchair, there was something in Xavier's general presence that suggested was not like at all like him. They put it down to a mutation; Xavier put it down to decent ethics.

Silence fell as the President of the United States entered the room, dressed in a bespoke pinstripe navy suit. He was younger than Xavier, but there was weariness in his stride and face that suggested a much older man's responsibilities. Sitting at the other end of the long table opposite Xavier, he opened a file already laid out, perused it for a moment, and looked up.

"Mutants," he said in his characteristic baritone – apparently one of the things voters loved about him – to the table at large, "What are we going to do with them," He plucked a paper dense with writing from the file, "A suspected average of one mutant to every twelve humans. I think this problem goes deeper than we think. We're going to have to start thinking out the logistics of an entire new ethnic minority emerging: health care, accommodation, cultural needs –"

"Protection," said a large, bearded man in a military uniform half way down the table. His many medals glinted in the heavy artificial light. Xavier did not recognise him.

"Protection?" repeated the President, confusion in his voice.

"Yes. Protection," said the military man. He had a slow, southern drawl, "Protection for _normal_ citizens," More than one of the officials at the table glanced down at Xavier, whose expression remained impassive, giving nothing away, "We know some of these mutants possess incredible potential to kill. But let's face it, we have no idea just what they're capable of,"

"The potential to kill is somewhat different to the actual act itself," said Xavier. Everyone looked at him, including the military man. A smile twitched the edge of his lips, suggesting that he had been waiting for just such an objection, "Virtually every human being has potential to kill. But not every one is a murderer."

"General Stryker makes a point," said another man, sitting closer to Xavier. His hair was greying and a pair of glasses perched on the end of his curved nose. This one Xavier recognised as Robert Kelly, the newly appointed Secretary of Mutant Affairs, "Some mutants possess ten times the destructive force of any handgun. I'd strongly recommend a registration program."

"That is certainly an option," said the President, rifling through the file for another sheet, "How viable that would be I'm not so sure,"

"It's a ridiculous notion," said a woman to the President's right, "We don't register other minorities,"

"Other minorities can't wipe out a dozen innocents with a flick of the hand," retorted Kelly.

"Please, Secretary Kelly, let's not be silly – where is the evidence for such a mutant?" said Xavier. Kelly opened his mouth to reply but could not seem to find an adequate response. Instead, the military man, General Stryker, cut in.

"I don't think a registration program is enough. Personally, I think Project Wide Awake is the only sensible way to go if we are to secure this country against mutant threats,"

"Project Wide Awake?" asked Xavier.

"Page thirteen in the notes, Professor," said the President, and while Xavier opened the black folder in front of him and began flicking through the pages, the President turned to address General Stryker, "Look, William, I know Wide Awake is a good plan on paper, but I think to introduce Sentinels now would be too aggressive,"

"Sentinels?" repeated Xavier, with much more force than in his last enquiry. He may not know the name of the project, but he had heard rumours of the Sentinels – huge, mutant killing robots supposedly designed to regulate the mutant populace. Sure enough, as Xavier read page thirteen, he saw that Project Wide Awake called for the creation of thousands of these hulking machines. "You cannot be serious,"

"We have to fight fire with fire," retorted Stryker coolly, "Besides, we may never actually _use_ them. Any man of war worth his salt will tell you the threat of violence is much more effective than violence itself."

"Let me get this straight," said Xavier, irked. The tension in the room was palpable, "You want to control an entire race of people under the tenet that if they put a toe out of place they'll be hunted down and killed by a gigantic robot?"

Stryker shrugged, "In a way, yes,"

"Gentlemen," said Kelly before Xavier could hit back with his reply, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Project Wide Awake is months away from being put into action anyway, maybe even years away." Stryker and the President exchanged glances, "A more immediate solution is to implement a registration program. Make it law for every mutant to declare themselves to the government and be put onto a database where we can keep tabs on them,"

"You make it sound like mutant-kind is a problem that needs fixing, Mister Secretary," said Xavier, his calm restored but now with an edge of bitterness in his voice, "Your discussion of control and solutions reminds me all too strongly of a similar meeting of powers at Wannsee not a century ago. The Brotherhoods' actions not withstanding, mutants have never shown themselves to be anything less than peaceful. What you are all forgetting is that mutants are not farm animals; they are not a separate species. They are human beings with a genetic enhancement. Humans with feelings and rights and," with a nod to the President, "the capability to vote. Magneto has got one thing right – we are on the brink of a changing era, and what you decide as a nation will be remembered forever. I sincerely hope you make the right choice,"


	3. Excalibur

**X-men: Reborn**

_**Brave New World **__Part Three of Five_

– **Excalibur –**

The fight was very confusing, and very fast. Mere moments after materialising in the middle of the hall Betsy had moved again, and she moved faster than any other human being Mandy had ever witnessed. She spun around her opponents in a haze of violet, executing martial arts attacks on the guards before they could even fire their weapons. Only when they lay groaning on the floor and Betsy was still did Mandy notice the strange magenta object protruding from her fist. It was like a knife, and seemed composed more of energy than anything tangible.

The devilish blue man moved even quicker. He could apparently teleport – even thinking about that word felt strange to Mandy, like something out of _Star Trek_ – and whipped around the room with blinding speed. The doors clanged open and streams of soldiers emerged into the room, weapons blaring. Needless to say the blue man dispatched half a dozen of them, before appearing in front of them and shouting to Lady Mastermind in what Mandy guessed was a German accent, "Juggernaut has destroyed the power dampener, and Torrent is sinking the ship. Help Psylocke and I get rid of some of these idiots!"

Immediately the second he vanished again in a billow of foul smelling smoke, Toad leapt into action. He could jump enormous distances and unlike Betsy and the blue man, did not seem to be leaving his victims alive. She watched as he tripped two men up with a lash of his tongue. But something even stranger was happening to a group of guards that had burst in the door Mandy had come from. They seemed to be walking around as if they were blind – shuffling slowly, feeling for what's ahead of them, jumpy and unnerved. Then Mandy noticed Lady Mastermind standing next to her, hands outstretched towards them, fingers moving in a strange, rhythmical motion.

"What are you doing?" Mandy asked slowly.

For a moment there was no reply, then Lady Mastermind said in a strained voice, "Making them see things they aren't,"

Mandy found such ability just a little disturbing…that was a dangerous power to have in the wrong hands. Hands like the Brotherhood of Mutants…

Swiftly the room was cleared of soldiers that were conscious or alive, and Betsy and the German teleporter sealed all the doors shut. Mandy, who was standing by the table with Lady Mastermind and Marrow, who had rejoined them virtually as soon as the fighting had started, watched as the other three came over to them.

"Well that buys us some time," said Betsy, "But not much. OK, here's the plan – Nightcrawler's going to teleport us out of here one by one. We have a small boat some miles east of here that is currently unmanned so someone needs to get aboard it before it drifts–" Mandy could hardly believe it was the same woman talking that she had met at her house in what felt like months ago. Betsy's voice was harsh, commanding – everyone present, even Toad, was listening intently, "-I don't expect we'll be alone for very long so everyone be prepared to fight,"

She turned to Mandy and when she spoke, there was that recognisable kindness in her voice again, "Mandy, now you're going to go second. Lady Mastermind will go first so she can secure the boat, and then you're going straight after. Nightcrawler here," she gestured to the blue man, who smiled with jagged yellow teeth, "you can call him Kurt if you like. He can take you with him when he teleports. You'll be at the boat in seconds,"

There was another gushing sound and Lady Mastermind and Nightcrawler were gone. The ship gave another nauseating jerk and as she regained balance, Mandy noticed water seeping in from the closed doors. Beyond came the distant sound of splashing and shouting, and thumps against the nearest door. A long, slow, ominous creek echoed around them.

Suddenly Nightcrawler reappeared and bounded over to Mandy.

"Take my hand, _mein biche freunde_. This may feel a little strange," he said. Tentatively Mandy reached for the strange blue man's hand but did not take it. She noticed all of a sudden just how strange the man looked. His ears were pointed, and he only had two fingers and a thumb on each hand. Encouraged by another agonising creak from the hull, Mandy closed her eyes, held her breath and took Nightcrawler's hand.

The sensation was all too brief for her to have any serious opinion on, but after a split second of mild discomfort she felt a slippery surface beneath her feet, and opened her eyes to find herself looking out at the ocean. Then she jerked into a coughing fit as the smoke from the teleport trickled down her throat. Before she could say anything to Nightcrawler however, he had vanished again. When the smokes foul brimstone stench faded Mandy was hit with the powerful odour of briny sea air.

"You might feel a bit sick," said Lady Mastermind's voice from behind her. Mandy turned around and at last took in the boat she had landed on. It was cramped and dirty, with the controls sheltered by Plexiglas. Lady Mastermind stood there, back turned to Mandy, gazing at a scope on the dashboard. Suddenly Mandy remembered where she had just been, and spun around wildly for a sign of the _H.M.S. Purity_, but it was no where to be seen.

_BAMF!_ Nightcrawler reappeared with Marrow. She too coughed, but worse than Mandy, and after a moment she ran to the side of the boat and proceeded to throw up.

"You see what I mean," sneered Lady Mastermind from the controls. She was tapping buttons now.

_BAMF! _Toad was suddenly there on deck, grimacing and wiping his filthy face. He gave a chortle when he realised Marrow's predicament.

_BAMF! _The boat suddenly sunk deeper into the ocean. Taking up most of the deck now was an enormous man that was seemingly a wall of pure muscle. He wore brutal knuckle-dusters on each hand.

_BAMF! _Finally Betsy stood there with them and Nightcrawler remained, not vanishing again. Just as Betsy opened her mouth to speak, Marrow screamed, making Mandy jump. The pale girl stumbled back from the boat's edge, a look of horror on her face. Moments later Mandy understood her shock – water seemed to be flowing _up_ and over the side of the boat and onto the deck. But they weren't sinking. Before Mandy's very eyes, the water seemed to congeal and bubble in a kind of fountain, shooting upward as it formed the shape of a painfully thin human. Slowly the aquatic apparition become more and more physical and eventually a man, blonde and gaunt, stood there next to Betsy.

The purple haired woman smiled, "Welcome to Excalibur, Mandy,"

* * *

Less than a week before Mandy's rescue, another young mutant across the Atlantic was being saved, although in a quite different sense.

_Nice house_, thought Jean Grey. The vivacious red head stood in the living room of one of the plushest homes she had even seen. Having not grown up too far away from here, she felt a slight twinge of jealously. The living room had the air of a designer studio with a large plasma screen television mounted on the wall opposite the three-piece suite of cream sofas. There was a sleek sideboard unit on one side that had a plethora of family photos arranged on it. The boy was cute in Jean's opinion, but _way_ too young for her. At nineteen, Jean had to have some self-respect, and sixteen-year-old skaters didn't interest her in the slightest.

"Bobby," said Professor Xavier, his wheelchair on the other side of the coffee table from the scruffy looking youth with his baggy trousers and straw like hair, who occupied the armchair like it was a climbing frame, "I assure you, your privacy will be retained as best as possible. But at your age you must understand, you cannot simply leave home without their permission."

"Why not," retorted Bobby apathetically, "They don't ask my permission to go off on vacation whenever they like, leaving me on my own,"

The hulking man sitting on the sofa adjacent to the Professor gave a deep chortle. He was remarkable not only for his particularly ape like features and the coat of vibrant blue fur carpeting his face and hands, but also his keenness of mind clear from his sharp gaze; "I thought a young man of your age would appreciate some time away from his parents,"

Bobby tossed his head, irritated, "Yeah, it's cool for like a while, but they go so often. You can't like party every night,"

"Indeed you cannot," said Xavier, bringing things back to the point, "And that's why I want to let you join the School for a trial period until your parents return. Then we can invite them to see what your enrolment can offer. I'm sure they'll let you stay,"

"You don't know my 'rents," said Bobby, "They're _really_ anti-mutant," Although he didn't admit it, his parents hatred of mutants really cut Bobby deep. He had known since he was thirteen he had 'abilities' but, in an act that was unusually prudent for Bobby, he had decided to keep them secret from the world. No one needed to know he could make water freeze in the blink of an eye, even if it was extremely cool. Then he got a letter from Xavier, inviting him to join his eponymous School For the Gifted, which, so the letter claimed, to help mutants learn about and develop their abilities while receiving the same level of education they would at a normal high school. He replied back saying he wanted to join as soon as possible: anything to get away from his boring, repressed life in an equally boring, repressed suburb of Chicago. Despite his attitude portraying things to the contrary, Bobby had few friends, having deliberately distanced him from others since discovering his mutation. The morning's arrival of Xavier and his band of other 'students' had thrown a little doubt in his path. Xavier was what he expected – patient, distinguished and a little cold, but the other people threw him. First of all there was the blue monkey man who seemed to think he was Frasier with all the wisecracks he made. Then there was the miserable guy in the red shades who was more his age – he looked a real barrel of laughs. If it wasn't for the hot chick who was standing at the window, Bobby might have completely changed his mind about the whole thing.

_Great, the kids got a crush on me, _thought Jean, picking up on the kids' thoughts subconsciously_._ Her telepathy was unwieldy like that sometimes; one day it wouldn't work at all, another she would hear everyone's thoughts unbidden. Thank goodness her telekinesis was a little more stable. She glanced at Scott, a tall, slim jock who stood by the sideboard, arms folded in characteristically dour fashion. He had his ruby-quartz glasses on as usual, concealing his eyes. Eyes may be the windows into the soul, but Jean didn't need windows to know Scott was thinking –

Her heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse out of the window at the small collection of people gathering at the edge Bobby Drake's front yard. Heading the group was a man dressed in a black and red outfit, arms concealed by an imperious cloak, head crowned by a spherical, centurion style helmet.

_Professor,_ called Jean telepathically, not wanting to alert the kid. A great deal of panic seeped into the message, _we've got company…_

Outside, high, high in the sky, Warren's eyes spotted the tiny shapes approaching the Drake boy's house and swooped lower to get a better look, at the same time trying to avoid being too obvious. Warren loved flying, he loved the skill of it, and to him there was no feeling more exhilarating than being free from the ground and soaring in the endlessly open expanse of the skies. He often readily volunteered to be the scout of Xavier's team (a job the others bemoaned) just so that he could have a chance to get up in the air. But his joy came at a price, for Warren means of flight was not invisible – two six-foot long pure white wings sprouted from his back. He had been forced to hide them from the world until Warren's father, the millionaire owner of Worthington Industries, met Xavier. Since joining the School in New York, Warren's life had had become very enjoyable indeed. Now as he glided gently downward on an air current, his pallid wings spread wide and his keen eyes ever watching, he thought it was no small wonder that his codename was Angel.

For a moment he thought the coast was clear, and that the gathering outside the house was a coincidence, neighbours stopping to chat, but then he saw something dark ripple out from the man at the fore's shape, and the realisation of who the stranger was hit him.

Acting on instinct, Warren dived, folding his wings in almost flat against his body, shooting like an arrow straight towards the enemy below.

"Birds can be such a nuisance when they get in the way," said Magneto casually to his team, flicking his eyes upward at the streaking dart heading straight for them, "They really ought to be stopped,"

Almost as if on cue, the young woman in scarlet behind Magneto raised her hand and flicked it towards the sky. A shimmering burst of incandescence escaped from her fingers and rocketed up to meet the dive-bombing Angel – and within a split second of contact the dive bomb became a free fall.

The pain was unbelievable. It felt like fire was coursing through him, burning him inside, unceasing, unrelenting and utterly terrible. Warren was now tumbling down to earth, completely thrown by the blast of red light that had greeted him in mid-air. With a lurch of his stomach that felt like a punch from an iron fist he realised that the pain was shifting, focusing on his _wings_, his precious wings, his pride and joy. Then he felt something light and willowy in his mouth, and spat feathers. Suddenly he noticed that feathers were all around him, falling with him, and that his wings were increasingly naked. Horror flooded him, worse now than the pain, and he closed his eyes, defeated and shocked, as the ground raced to meet him.

_Save him Jean_ came Xaviers' thoughts into the young telekinetic's mind as he realised at the same time she did their comrade was only moments from death.

_I'm not sure I can focus it that well_ replied Jean in her mind.

You can do it, you know you can

Fixing her gaze on the helpless Warren – she could sense his terror even from where she stood – Jean directed all her will towards easing his passage to the ground. She knew she could not stop him instantly, her powers were not yet that developed, but she could cushion the blow and prevent the fall from being fatal. With a surge of excitement and relief, she saw that Warren's descent was losing speed.

"Noble," muttered Magneto as he watched the winged boy land with a disappointingly soft thud on the next house's front lawn, "And so very predictable,"

_What are we going to do Professor? _thought Jean. No one else in the room apart from them was aware of what had just happened and who was outside. Xavier remained oddly calm and, in a feat Jean was in awe of, he kept his psychic rapport with her up even while he talked to Bobby, not showing any hint of distraction in either conversation.

_Who does he have with him?_ asked Xavier.

The whole Brotherhood – Superpsycke, Blob, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Mastermind, Mystique – they're all there

_Odd…_came Xavier's reply, and for the first time Jean sensed that his focus shifted elsewhere, albeit momentarily.

What's wrong?

It doesn't matter. We're not going to get around this one. Inform the others, and keep to the codenames

_Affirmative_,Jean thought, and then opened up her telepathic projection to her teammates. Meanwhile, Xavier addressed Bobby.

"I'm afraid something has come up, and we must leave," Xavier said, his voice passive, "immediately. Now I understand if you'd rather stay here, but I strongly advise that you come with us now."

"What? Don't I get to pack?" Bobby said, sitting up straight and running a hand through his hair.

"We can return later for your personal items. The school is equipped with any essentials you might need in the meantime. Now let's go. Stick with Hank here," Xavier nodded to the furry ape-man in a black jacket on the sofa.

"Call me Beast," said Hank, and smiled. Bobby didn't return it.

"I'll go first," said Xavier, directing his motorised wheelchair towards the door, "Cyclops, Marvel Girl, flank," Scott and Jean went with him into the hall and out the front door into the sunshine.

Jean had been right, they were all there – Magneto dressed as every inch the emperor he thought himself; his twin children Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in an elaborate red robe and white-grey running suit respectively; the enormous titan of fat and muscle that was Blob; suave but sinister Mastermind; white clad azure assassin Mystique; and the silent, ashen suited threat Superpsycke. Something though was not quite right, and Xavier couldn't put his finger on what. Something just simply didn't _add up_.

"Erik," said Xavier in what Jean and Scott recognised as his warning voice. They both stood either side of their wheel-chair bound mentor dressed in black uniforms, guarding Xavier and matching the venomous stares the Brotherhood gave them with even harder expressions. Jean quickly cast a telepathic limb to Warren – he was alive and breathing, thank God.

"Charles," replied Magneto. The enmity between them was tangible, the whole situation like a bomb that could explode any moment.

"Why have you come here?" asked Xavier, eyes fixed on Magneto.

"Recruiting, are we?" replied Magneto, ignoring the question, "I suppose whoever they are does look rich. You like rich students, don't you Xavier,"

"Enough of this," snapped the Professor. Jean wondered what Magneto had meant. Warren was the only student among them who had any sort of wealth, "I hope you realise what you're doing to mutant kind. You're damning them, irredeemably,"

"Oh Charles you still don't see, do you?" said Magneto, shaking his head, "Your pathetic dream of holding hands round the campfire with mankind and living happily ever after is a delusion. We have made them redundant. All over the world, more and more mutants are being born, and I am securing their kingdom for them,"

"With you as the king," said Xavier, "Magneto Rex, Saviour and Dictator of the mutants. We can all see past your lies,"

Magneto laughed, "It doesn't matter what you think. You'll be out of my way soon enough,"

"The Brotherhood's actions are going to force nations to do things that none of us want them to do," said Xavier, unsure whether or not to give Magneto the information he had – it was a potent weapon, but it could fuel more violence than ever. After a split seconds hesitation, Xavier made his decision, "The President is considering Sentinels again Erik,"

"Sentinels?" Magneto laughed again, more arrogantly and wildly than before, "If this government decides to use _metal_ machines to defeat the Master of Magnetism, they are far more foolish than I thought. Anyway, this conversation is all in vain. You can't change anything now. It's time to say goodbye to you and your ridiculous school children,"

The attack came from both sides without warning. Jean felt a horrible throbbing pain in her cheek and had fallen to the ground before she had time to even register being punched. Simultaneously, Scott was hoisted up from behind by Blob's mammoth arms and thrown across the lawn. How on earth did it happen so fast? Then Xavier realised the deception – Mastermind's powers of illusion had made them think all the Brotherhood were by Magneto, when in fact Quicksilver and Blob had snuck up right behind Jean and Scott. Now the illusion was dropped and Xavier's realisation was confirmed – only Mastermind and Scarlet Witch were standing with Magneto. Where was Superpsycke and Mystique? Something still was not right. He thought for a moment that it had been the prevailing illusion that made him suspicious, but apparently not.

Quicksilver's mutant powers allowed him to move so fast Jean could barely see his feet and arms assail her as she lay on the ground. Gathering her wits, she summoned a shield of psychic energy, an invisible bubble to protect her. Quicksilver's next blows made no contact with her, and his surprise gave her time to roll sideways – short, sharp shocks of pain stabbing her wounded body as it moved – and blast her attacker with a wave of telekinetic energy, who was thrown back into the fence by the sidewalk.

Scott's head hurt as he picked himself up. A now crushed shrubbery had broken his fall. Straightening up, he saw Blob lumbering towards him like a human boulder on legs, and Scott opened fire with everything he had. He ripped off his protective glasses and immediately a gargantuan beam of concussive red energy erupted from Scott's open eyes. It engulfed Blob but did not throw him back – after all, that was the huge mutant's power, he simply could not be made to move against his will. Scott noticed that Blob's eyes were shut and his hands were shielding his face. The sun shone ever brighter up above them all, and Scott's determination doubled, the beam becoming increasingly more forceful.

"Je– Marvel Girl!" Scott called to Jean, "Open his eyes!"

Jean had time only to telekinetically open Blob's resistant eyelids before Quicksilver was on her back, punching her now from behind.

Blob's eyes were filled with stinging red energy and he roared, throwing his hands up over his face, and in that moment he lost his balance, toppling backwards like a tree and slamming into the ground with the force of a tank.

Xavier could sense Mastermind was about to construct another illusion, no doubt to help his colleagues, and so Xavier invaded his mind, shutting down his senses temporarily one by one. Moments later, Mastermind had fallen to the floor, groping around like a blind man.

Magneto and Scarlet Witch remained still, simply watching the battle unfold. Slowly, Xavier began to understand.

Quicksilver's assault was beginning to wear Jean down, but before he could land another punch, he was torn from her by a blur of blue fur and raking claws. Beast had come flying out of the front door to her rescue, and now had Quicksilver pinned to the ground.

Turning her attention to Scott, who had put his glasses back on, she shouted, "Cyclops, get Angel!"

As Scott spun around in search of Warren, Xavier told them all in their heads, _We're getting out of here now. Cyclops, once you have retrieved Angel, head to the jet and prepare for takeoff. Marvel Girl, get Bobby._

Jean turned to the house to see Mystique standing on the threshold, a sick grin curling her lips and a gun aimed directly at Beast's back. Jean screamed a warning at Beast, but too late, she could see Mystique pulling the trigger.

No gunshot was heard, for the bullet never escaped its holdings. There had been a sound like a harsh wind blowing and Mystique's gun toting arm had become inexplicably covered with ice. Behind Mystique, in the shadow of the house's interior, Jean saw Bobby standing with his hand outstretched, a tear of blood trickling from his forehead.

So that's what the kid could do…

They made their escape as rapidly as possible. Beast's assault had rendered Quicksilver unconscious, Blob was having trouble returning to a vertical position and Mystique stood somewhat in shock clutching her frozen arm. Still though Magneto and Scarlet Witch were unmoving, their eyes following Xavier and his team up the road as they scrambled away.

In the wide expanse of grass that formed a roundabout at the end of Bobby's road was the Blackbird, an expensive looking military style aircraft that was somewhere between a stealth bomber and jet liner. Its engines were running now, rumbling away in the mid-morning quiet. Xavier, Jean, Beast and Bobby boarded the craft and it began to fire its thrusters. Soon it was airborne and they were sailing away from Bobby Drake's quiet corner of Chicago.

"Professor," breathed Hank, strapped in next to Xavier, "We shouldn't have survived that,"

"I know," Xavier said, rubbing his forehead, "Magneto let us escape. I don't think it was ever his intention to stop us at all. We were just a distraction,"

"For what?" asked Jean.

"Superpsycke," pronounced Xavier, looking around at the others, "He was never there at all…I couldn't sense his presence among them, despite Mastermind's illusion depicting him as being there. That's what was odd."

"Why wouldn't he be there?" said Hank, "He's the field leader. I was surprised to see Magneto,"

"Erik had to be there to lead the team in Superpsycke's absence. It was a clever plan – lure us out, attack unexpectedly, delay us as long as possible. He even sent Mystique, the traditional killer of the group, to attack Bobby."

"But where was Superpsycke?" asked Jean, a little impatiently.

"At the School," Xavier said gravely, "Using Cerebro,"

Jean's eyes widened. Cerebro was a very powerful machine that amplified a telepath's abilities. The Professor often used it to locate mutants across the world, "With Cerebro, he could do anything…"

"Exactly," Xavier said, "I have an alarm installed in Cerebro that sends a message to the Blackbird should anyone other than myself attempt to use it. When we came on board just now and I saw the alert on one of the screens, it finally all made sense. But the question remains: what does Superpsycke, and by extension Magneto, want to find out with Cerebro?"

No one had an answer. Bobby sat by a round window, looking out at the clouds. He was very quiet and did not look at any of them. Understandable, considering what he had just been through.

"All the same," said Xavier after a few minutes of silence, "You all coped excellently in such an unexpected situation. Well done X-men, well done,"

The Blackbird flew on in the empty sky, speeding them back home to New York and Xavier's School for the Gifted.

* * *

Moonlight cast a serene glow on the deck, and the gently rolling waves rocking the boat back and forth as they sailed northwards were strangely calming. The night sky was completely clear, with only the moon and the stars for company in the wide expanse of heaven. Mandy stood leaning over the side, looking down at the silver lined ocean. She felt very alone. Although grateful for being rescued, she couldn't help but think that the last remnants of her life had been on the _H.M.S. Purity_, not least the knowledge of what happened to her parents. It was weird how even though Mandy didn't have the best relationship in the world with her mother and father, she still missed them terribly, like part of her had been pulled out and thrown away.

"I know how you're feeling," came Betsy's voice. Mandy looked around. Betsy was there next to her, and leant down to join in Mandy's perusing of the waves, "I never got on with my brother Jamie. It wasn't until I lost him that I realised just how much I loved him,"

"Do you think my parents are…are…" stammered Mandy, but she couldn't quite get the word she knew she had to say out.

"Probably," said Betsy quietly, "And I'm very sorry to have to say that. But S.T.R.I.K.E. are new – very new – and they want to make a name for themselves. In this business you do that by executing innocents,"

The numb feeling Mandy had in the pit of her stomach spread outward. Betsy's words seemed to abolish the little shield she had been hiding behind to stop her facing what in the back of her mind she knew must be the truth: her parents were dead. And it was her fault. If she hadn't been a mutant, she would have not drawn her family into this horrible world. At that moment, Mandy would have given anything to be back at the dinner table in her own home listening to her parents argue.

"Who _are_ S.T.R.I.K.E.?" asked Mandy quietly some minutes later.

"Britain's answer to us," replied Betsy, "Mutants. The bombings made by the Brotherhood's main team spurred on its creation. Of course, officially they deal with all types of terrorism, but in reality, they've been created to combat mutants and mutants alone. I should know, my father is the director,"

Mandy snapped her head round to look at Betsy, her eyes wide, "What?"

Betsy bowed her head and gave a slight smile, "Yes, I'm not proud of it. The fact is I haven't spoken to my father or any of my family since Jamie died. He hates me for what I am and he hated Jamie too. He didn't even attend the memorial service."

"Jamie was a mutant?"

"Yes. Yes, he was." Mandy noticed tears in Betsy's eyes, but they were wiped away with a swipe of the telepath's hand, "Listen Mandy, I have something very important to tell you,"

Not knowing quite what to say, Mandy simply nodded.

"Do you know of a man named Charles Xavier?" Betsy asked. Remembering the bald, wheelchair bound professor Mandy had seen so frequently on television, she nodded. Betsy continued, "He runs a school in America, a school for people like us; for mutants. He believes that mutants can be accepted, that we can live peacefully with mankind. He believes Magneto is wrong, and so do I,"

"But…" Mandy said, a little confused, "But you're in the Brotherhood, you lead one of Magneto's teams…"

"Yes, I know," said Betsy quickly, with the air of someone with a lot to say but little time to say it in, "I'm really working for Xavier, undercover. But I've begun to suspect Magneto knows where my true loyalties lie, so it's time to get out while I still can. When we return to our base, which will be in about two hours, I'm going to contact Xavier and arrange an escape route."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Mandy nervously.

"Because I want you to come with me," said Betsy, looking Mandy straight in the eye, "The Brotherhood is no place for you. And with Xavier's help, you can discover so much about the gifts you've been given,"

Mandy considered Betsy's words for a moment, and in that short space of time, a brand new curiosity was born in him, a wonderful new hope, and for the first time since before her capture she felt a twinge of excitement and happiness.

"Yes," Mandy said, smiling, "Yes, that would be wonderful,"

Betsy smiled broadly, revealing her perfect white teeth. Soon the sky was lightening and what began as a speck on the blackish-blue horizon morphed into a rocky island. At its crest there was a grey building with wide windows that was almost silhouetted in the dawn.

Excalibur assembled on deck as they drew nearer to the island, some of them rubbing the sleep form their eyes. Betsy winked at Mandy.

"Where are we?" asked Mandy.

"Muir Island, off the coast of Scotland," replied Betsy, and as the boat drew neatly into the shadows cast by the windy island's high cliffs, Mandy smiled, at last some hope in her heart.


	4. Complications

**X-men: Reborn**

_**Brave New World **__Part Four of Five_

– **Complications –**

The Oval Office was hot this time of year, too hot. The heatwave had been frying Washington D.C. for four days now, and even though the President had arrived back from Houston only yesterday, he was already fed up with it.

And the last thing he needed now was Stryker complaining. Not again.

The short but broad general stood now before the President's desk, his hat under one arm, a file of papers in the opposite hand. Sunlight beamed in through the windows, heating the back of the President's neck, making him uncomfortable.

"Now is the time," said Stryker, his medals twinkling in the light, "We should act now or it may be too late,"

"I don't know how long I'm going to have to keep saying this William," said the President, hoping to nip the conversation in the bud before it became too drawn out, "I'm not interested. We can never initiate Project Wide Awake, you know that. The Sentinels are too dangerous, by far."

"Trask has updated them," replied Stryker, a gleam in his eye that was far too much like fanaticism for the President's liking. "He's constantly working on improving the model. The _Mastermould_ program he's created to regulate their production is extremely intelligent,"

"But I don't trust machines," the President said, frowning, "And now you tell me you've got a computer – essentially a machine – to control an army of machines? Don't you see the danger?"

"The only danger I see is from mutants," returned Stryker, "I think the damage the Brotherhood has inflicted on the western world these past few months is cause enough to activate the units…"

"_Activate_ them?" cut in the President, both hands gripping the arms of his chair, "You mean you've already built the damn things?"

There was an awkward pause before Stryker spoke, "Yes,"

"How many, William?"

"Five thousand,"

"My God," breathed the President. He leant back and run a hand through his hair, "Where?"

"Three facilities on the Eastern sea board, two on the Western." Stryker threw down the file, "It's all in there,"

"This has to stay deadly secret," said the President as he fixed the man opposite him with a sharp gaze, "I mean it – no one must know."

"All our staff have signed non-disclosure agreements. If they speak we sue,"

"That's something at least. Now, please leave me William, I need to get to grips with just how bad this situation you've landed me in is,"

"I think I should–"

"Please," said the President, quietly but firmly, "Just leave,"

Slowly and clearly against his will, the bulky beaded figure of Stryker departed the office. Equally as unwilling, the President pulled the file toward him, opened it up and began to read.

The heat was worse than ever.

* * *

Muir Island was quiet, except for the constant lap of waves on the rocky shore and the occasional whistling courtesy of the wind. No larger than a football pitch, the island was in fact two – one small circle of rock that served as a helipad, connected by bridge to the main isle, which was dominated by a concrete courtyard and a stoic grey three storey building.

In general it was a bit bleak, or so Mandy thought. She hadn't liked the place from the beginning – it was hardly somewhere you could warm to – but it was necessary to be here, because, so she hoped, it would be the gateway to something new. A helicopter was scheduled to arrive that evening to take her and Betsy to America, and a life where she could be herself.

She stood now on the top floor of the building, where the dormitories were situated, looking out of the long sleek window at the grey ocean. The door clicked behind her and Mandy turned to see Lady Mastermind walk in. The cunning eyed woman was tall and lanky, a mane of dark yellow hair thrown behind her shoulders. Mandy turned back to the window, concealing her thoughts of escape – like Betsy, Lady Mastermind was a telepath.

"Hello, Mandy," said Lady Mastermind, stopping behind her. The sun was setting and the room was dim – their reflections stared back at them in the window, "I just thought I'd come and check on you. Not too shaken up by the whole experience are you?"

"I'm ok," replied Mandy quietly, desperately trying not to think of what would be happening in only a few hours time like Betsy had told her to, "Just a little bored I guess,"

"Bored?" Lady Mastermind gave a hollow laugh, "You'd prefer to be fighting for your life?"

"I didn't mean that," said Mandy, a little defensively, "Just…there's nothing to do here,"

"Well, we can soon change that now, can't we?"

Downstairs, in the catering area, the purple haired Betsy Braddock sat talking to Nightcrawler, a strange blue-skinned man with pointed ears, glowing yellow eyes and a devilish grin. Now though there wasn't the slightest hint of a smile.

"This is a very dangerous thing to be doing," said Nightcrawler. He had a mild German accent and there was genuine concern in his voice, "If Magneto finds out…"

"Hang Magneto Kurt, hang them all," replied Betsy, biting, "It's now or never. He'll find out eventually, so I have to leave before he does. Mandy's life could rest on it."

"I understand this, but without you here we may be forced to do much more terrible things that we want…"

"Then come with me Kurt,"

Nightcrawler's eyes widened, " Ach _Fraulein_, that is not so good an idea,"

"Why not?"

"Because! Magneto hates traitors more than humans. You know that. I have a life here,"

"But you can get a better one if you just–" Suddenly she felt it…the slightest disturbance, a tiny distress call, fleeting but significant – Mandy was in trouble.

"I don't really want to be a part of the Brotherhood though," protested Mandy as Lady Mastermind stood opposite her.

"You wanted to be part of Excalibur though? Well they're one and the same…" said Lady Mastermind in a sickly sweet voice.

"I never wanted to be part of anything!" burst out Mandy with a sudden surge of aggression. Lady Mastermind made a patronising tutting sound. Then, with a jolt of horror, Mandy realised it was dark and she could here the whirring hum of propellers. She span around to look at the helipad, which was illuminated in the gloom. The helicopter was ascending, lifting up from the pad, _leaving_.

"No!" shouted Mandy, pressing her hands against the glass.

"What's wrong?" asked Lady Mastermind. Her voice seemed oddly distant.

"She wouldn't…Betsy wouldn't leave without me…" Mandy breathed, more to herself than anyone. She was in a state of disbelief.

"Where would Betsy be going Mandy?" came Lady Mastermind's voice again, distant and vague. Odd. It was also odd how quickly it had become dark; surely they had not been talking for that long?

Mandy turned back to look at the room but was faced with nothing but an abyss of pure black. Somewhere in the darkness Lady Mastermind's voice rang out, no longer far away but booming and utterly terrifying, "WHERE WAS PSYLOCKE GOING CHILD?"

"I don't know!" Mandy called out. She was only barely aware she was lying; there was too much fear in her to think properly.

"LIAR!" the voice screamed back, "YOU KNOW! WHERE WERE YOU INTENDING TO GO?"

Mandy began to cry, tears streaming down her face. She felt lost, so very, very lost…

_Hold on Mandy!_ came Betsy's voice in her head, a bastion of hope in the bleak nightmare. Then the black curtain fell, and the room was back to normal, albeit in a natural twilight. The sun had set, and Mandy could hear the thrum of helicopter blades for real. Betsy was standing over Lady Mastermind's unconscious body, her fist outstretched. A trickle of blood dripped into the blonde woman's hair from the split lip Betsy's punch had given her.

Mandy's breathing was heavy, and her eyes were like saucers in the aftermath of such a fearful attack. Betsy came over to her and put a calming hand on her cheek.

"Everything's going to be ok now Mandy, trust me," Betsy said, her voice soothing but not entirely convincing, "It's time to go now, and we have to be quick. She'll be awake soon," Lady Mastermind was already beginning to stir as they bolted from the room.

They raced down the stairs past a bemused looking Toad, and Betsy grabbed a rucksack at the bottom. As they made for the atrium, Marrow emerged from the shadows of a doorway.

"Wait," she said, calling out with enough force to grab their attention, "I've changed my mind. I want to come as well,"

"Then come on!" shouted Betsy, running once again. The three of them emerged into the atrium to see beyond the glass doors that it was raining.

"Typical," muttered Betsy. Back the way they came they could hear Lady Mastermind shouting. Metres from the door, a burst of violet smoke heralded the arrival of Nightcrawler on the scene; he moved across their path and they all stopped.

"Kurt, don't make me hurt you," said Betsy. Her voice was deadly serious.

"I know it's too late to change your mind," Nightcrawler said, sadness in his eyes, "But good luck," All of them turned their heads as the shouts from the other members of Excalibur grew louder, "Oh, and I think I better buy you some time!" He winked, a smile curling his blue lips, and he vanished again with a _bamf_.

The next thing Mandy knew she was running across soaked concrete, raindrops bouncing off her and the wind tossing her hair in all directions. It was bitterly cold outside, and the only lights were those from the helipad. With the skip of a heartbeat Mandy noticed the helicopter there, its blades still spinning, the doors thrown open in anticipation.

They weren't far now, only twenty or thirty metres away, hurrying across the bridge between the isles, and Mandy felt her heart soar in happiness. They were going to make it, they really were!

A blinding flash of light stopped them in their tracks. Mandy tripped over her feet in surprise and tasted cold concrete, foul dirt and warm blood. Even with her eyes closed the flash was there, imprinted onto her retinas. What had caused it?

Looking up, her heart jolted again, and she saw that standing between them and the helicopter was the man from the train station – a cloak draped over his grey uniform and his black gloved hands balled into fists. There was a flare of luminescent magenta and Betsy lunged forward, wielding what she had explained to Mandy was a knife of psychic energy, like a katana. Out of the corner of her eye, Mandy could also see that Marrow lay completely still – hopefully only unconscious.

The man lifted his hands and Betsy was sent flying backwards. She somehow managed to turn the misfortune into a somersault and landed on her feet. Thrusting her fist forward, she sent a burst of magenta energy towards her assailant, who dissipated it with a mere gesture. Simultaneously, he directed his other hand at the helicopter and Mandy heard the whirr of the blades begin to jar and stutter.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" screamed Betsy, and raced forward faster than Mandy could see, her psychic knife held aloft. But her fury was in vain, and the attacker grabbed her hand even as it came down upon him with the knife in tow. She panted and struggled, but his telekinetic strength overwhelmed her, and Betsy fell back onto the ground, gasping and defeated.

* * *

"_Woah_," murmured Bobby Drake, with a chuckle from Beast, "That was too cool!"

Bobby, Beast and Jean had just emerged out of the Danger Room, a state of the art training facility the X-men used to experiment and explore with their powers. They were in the subbasement of Xavier's School for the Gifted, situated on the outskirts of a small town called Salem Center, in New York State. Above ground it had the appearance (and accompanying luxuries) of a nineteenth century manor house with expansive grounds and drive. But take one of the many concealed lifts down to the subbasements and it was a whole other world. Outfitted with highly advanced technology and a white, slightly clinical décor, this area was the playground of the X-Men, their hub and home. It also housed Xavier's telepathy enhancing machine Cerebro.

"Well that's pretty much all the toys we keep down here," laughed Beast, "I can't believe it Jean, he's been here only three days and he's already exhausted all our secrets,"

"Yeah, you didn't waste any time, Bobby," said Jean, smiling. She looked so hot when she smiled thought Bobby, then flushed scarlet, remembering Jean was a telepath. He directed his gaze at his feet.

"Oh relax Bobby," said Jean, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I don't mind. You're kinda cute anyway," She smiled again and gave him a warm look that made Bobby feel all fuzzy and light-headed.

"Iceman," Bobby announced as they reached the elevator and stopped, waiting for it to come, "I want to be called Iceman,"

Beast laughed, "I couldn't of thought of a better name myself. But I don't think you're going to be going on field missions just yet,"

"What the hell?" said Bobby in typically misunderstood teenager voice, "I'm totally ready for it,"

"Bobby, hun," said Jean, "We all spent a year training in the Danger Room before we ever went on missions. You'll just have to wait for your time,"

"This _sucks_," said Bobby as the elevator arrived and the doors slid open. The interior had dark wooden panelling, the first hint of the mansion above. Once at ground level, Bobby went to the kitchen with Jean to make lunch, while Beast went in the opposite direction to Xavier's study.

As Beast knocked and entered, he saw Xavier putting a phone receiver down, a grim expression arching his features. Beast strode in and leant on a chair opposite Xavier, who was sitting at a fine mahogany desk, its surface cluttered with papers, books, pots of pens, a telephone and a flat screen computer monitor.

"Problem, Charles?" asked Beast casually, despite the worrying expression on the other man's face.

"In a word, yes," replied Xavier. He looked up at Beast, "That was Moira. The helicopter that should have brought Betsy and the girl to Edinburgh never came back. She lost radio contact two hours ago."

Beast stood and crossed his arms, concern passing into him also, "Do you think they were intercepted?"

"Or they never left," said Xavier, "The computer says Betsy's tracking device is still on Muir Island,"

"Oh dear," said Beast quietly, and he opened his mouth to voice a possible explanation, but was stopped by a beeping from the computer.

Xavier's frown deepened, "It says it's an incoming video message,"

"What? From who?"

","

"Well I don't know them. Open it?"

Xavier shifted the mouse and clicked to open the message. Beast came round the desk as a new panel popped up on the screen. Initially it was black, but then it shifted into an image of man in a centurion-style helmet and cloak sitting upon a throne. In the background there was only darkness. His eyes were hidden beneath the helmet, and they could just make out the mouth moving as Magneto spoke:

_"Good afternoon Xavier, I have some news that might interest you. I had warned you not to meddle in my affairs, to stay out of my way, but I see you still haven't learned. It was selfish of you though to use involve others in your spying when you could have so easily have done it yourself with Cerebro. Still, I think you should know that your days of keeping an eye on me are over; your spy has been rumbled."_

The camera swung around to three cylindrical Plexiglas cells suspended in mid air. Two of them contained young girls; in the other was Betsy Braddock. After a moment to take in the helpless figures, the picture returned to Magneto.

_"Even a traitor like yourself deserves to be given one last look at three people he himself is responsible for. Make no mistake Xavier, their deaths will be on your head!"_

The video ended. Both Beast and Xavier sat there in the fresh silence, not knowing quite what to say.

Presently Xavier directed the controls of his wheelchair back and out from behind the desk, heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Beast.

"To save Betsy," replied Xavier, "Care to join me?"

Half an hour later the X-Men were gathered in the high-tech war room in the subbasement of the mansion, which had the feel of a small amphitheatre, with circular rows of seating surrounding the holo-pad in the centre of the room. Heavy artificial lighting beamed down on them from the ceiling. Bobby's presence had been graciously allowed on the basis he respect the gravity of the situation

Xavier was in the centre by the holo-pad and was addressing his students, "I can only surmise that Magneto is in the Savage Land Citadel, which is the last of the three bases we constructed during our time as allies,"

"You _worked_ with him?" said Bobby. It was not his first unwarranted exclamation and Xavier was growing tired of it.

"Yes!" Xavier snapped, "For a time. I make no secret of the fact I did. Using money Magneto inherited from his adoptive family, we set up three bases of operations, one here, intended as a school, another on Muir Island, for use as a secluded research centre and hospital and a central command centre in the Savage Land that Erik called his 'Citadel'. We know the other two are otherwise occupied, so the Citadel must be where Magneto is based."

"Where is the Savage Land?" asked Warren, whose feathers had fortunately all grown back over the past few days, "I've never heard of it,"

"You wouldn't," answered Xavier, "Because only a handful of people have. It's a geographical anomaly – an area of tropical jungle enclosed in a crater valley on the fringe of the Antarctic continent. My father discovered it accidentally in the early forties, and he decided to keep it a secret from all but his family, realising that if people knew about it they would flock there and ruin the beauty of the eco-system. It made for an ideal base location."

"Professor?" asked Warren, "Just a small question: if you knew Magneto was there all along, why didn't we stop him before?"

Xavier rubbed his forehead, "I was never entirely sure he was there. I'm still not now, but it's our best chance. Besides, I think our previous encounters with the Brotherhood tell us exactly why we've never actively challenged them."

"We've stood by while all those innocents were killed?" said Warren, his voice rising with anger, "We could have stopped them!"

"That's in the past now anyway, Warren," retorted Xavier, with a tone to suggest the subject was closed, "We have to focus on rescuing Betsy. That is what we are doing here – _not _trying to destroy the Brotherhood, though if we can apprehend any of them while we're there it would be helpful."

"I have a concern Professor," said Beast from the back, "It's going to take us quite a time to get to Antarctica, even at the jet's top speed. Does Betsy have that long?"

"I don't know," Xavier said, "But it's a chance we'll have to take."

The discussion did not continue much longer. Xavier warned them all again to be careful of the Brotherhood, whose powers were developed further than their own, and also that they weren't to be caught up in battles but to focus on their primary objective. As the others changed into their distinctive black uniforms, Bobby asked if he could come along.

"Bobby, I understand you want to help," said Xavier with the air of a father breaking news gently to his son, "But you've had no training."

"I took out Mystique back home!" protested Bobby.

Xavier gave a small chuckle, "Yes, I suppose you did. You have spirit Bobby, and courage. I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to join us – for the experience – so long as you stay in the jet,"

"Al_right!_" cheered Bobby, and he dashed into the changing rooms to find a uniform in his size.

Soon they were all set to go, and before an hour since Xavier and Beast had watched Magneto's message had passed, the X-Men were on their way, time and the odds against them, coming to the rescue of a valuable team member and two very frightened girls.


	5. The Master of Magnetism

**X-men: Reborn**

_**Brave New World **__Part Five of Five_

**– The Master of Magnetism –**

Rising up from the mist, shimmering and vague in the strong sunlight, the citadel stood over two hundred metres above the great lake it overlooked. Constructed on a hilly island surrounded by deep azure waters, it was virtually the centre point of the Savage Land. At the edges of the lake was thick jungle, from which issued a multitude of disturbingly loud and vicious animal calls. Of course, nothing that lived in the jungle could reach the citadel, Magneto had made sure of that. Even if they did, there was precious little they could do to it.

The Blackbird jet burst from the cloudy canopy and into the valley, the spike of the citadel visible even from the edge of the land. Inside the jet the X-Men exclaimed en masse, having not quite believed the Professor's story of tropical paradise existing amidst endless miles of ice.

"Fascinating!" said Beast, surveying the leafy jungle over which they were now skimming, "The flora is remarkable even from here. Oh my stars and stripes – is that a _pterosaur_?"

Out of the cockpit windows two or three bird like shapes were circling the edge of the lake. Hard to make out in the distance, their movements were smooth, like great gliding condors. Drawing closer, they all saw that they had the distinctive crest of a pterosaur, and not a feather on them – sinewy skin stretched between the pinions of their wings.

"My father noted that the valley contains a number of species previously considered extinct," said Xavier, smiling at the sight of the wheeling pterosaurs, "Some quite aggressive. Hence the _Savage_ Land."

So astounded were the X-Men by the wondrous flying beasts that it came as quite a surprise to them when the jet began to break and turn.

"Land on the patch of rock next to the citadel," Xavier instructed Cyclops, who was piloting the plane. Instead of his sunglasses, he now wore a visor over his eyes, a single strip of ruby-quartz in a sleek metal frame, which explained the reasoning behind his codename.

The Blackbird pitched, its engines roaring, and came to rest slowly on the outcropping in the shadow of the citadel. At this level, the building resembled an extremely imposing skyscraper.

"If you have any trouble, do not hesitate to contact us," said Xavier to Bobby as the X-Men departed the jet, "We'll all have active communicators," It was true; each of the team wore an earpiece that allowed radio communication between them all.

"No problem," replied Bobby, looking in awe out of the cockpit windows at the pterosaurs, which were diving to catch fish.

Outside the air was humid, the sunlight sweltering. There was a rough path up to the body of the building, but no entrance was in sight. As they continued clambering up, Xavier explained:

"The citadel was designed to be accessed from the air, with any craft being able to touch down on the landing pad on one of the mid-levels," Looking up, they could see the pad from below, bulging out from the main complex, "Therefore there is only an emergency entrance at ground level. It has to be opened from the inside,"

Xavier navigated the steep path with the help of a specially constructed wheelchair that incorporated repulsor-lift technology to keep the chair suspended off the ground. It proved most effective, and ironically made Xavier the most dextrous of them all. Upon reaching the base of the building, the Professor led them round the edge until they came upon a slight recess in the wall so well camouflaged that if it had not been pointed out to them they would probably have missed it.

"We unfortunately don't have the luxury of being able to get in conventionally," said Xavier, "so we'll have to improvise. Cyclops, would you do the honours?"

After a moment to comprehend the instruction, Cyclops stepped forward, placed a hand on the side of his visor, and sent a concentrated beam of red energy shooting out from it into the doorway, which buckled almost immediately. Soon the door was thrown completely off its hinges, revealing a dank flight of spiral stairs.

"Remember X-Men," warned Xavier, "Once inside, don't believe anything you see on first sight: Mastermind could be at work,"

Cautiously they entered, ascending the stairs that seemed to continue on forever.

Somewhere on the fifth level, after about five minutes of walking, they heard a distant sound of what seemed liked laughter. It was a surprising sound for such a grim place, but far from raising their spirits, it chilled them to the bone. The laughter was cruel and harsh, as if in mocking, and on reflection was characteristic of one particular Brotherhood member:

"Mystique," growled Beast, "Where is it coming from?"

"I'd say about two more levels up," said Warren, who was at the head of the group with Cyclops and Xavier. Beast and Jean had taken up the rear, and now he turned to look back for her, he noticed she stood half a dozen steps down from him, her face deadly pale.

"What's wrong?" asked Beast, trotting down the steps to Jean.

"I feel…strange," said Jean, whose eyes turned to him but seemed to look right on through, "This place is full of memory…psychic energy. My telepathy keeps picking it up…frightening things have happened here, terrible things…"

"Marvel Girl," said Xavier, coming down to join them. The others had all stopped and been watching, "Block them out. You can do it. Just ignore the voices,"

After a moment Jean's gaze broke and returned to normal, colour returning to her face. She shook her head, and they all continued upward.

At the seventh level the stair way ended and the whole design of the place changed, like it had been two separate buildings conjoined. The new area resembled the subbasement of Xavier's School much more, with smooth, clinical lines and vast amounts of pale grey and white. In the midst of the room was a central column that seemed to be an elevator. There were windows casting bright light onto the metal tables and chairs, which looked very uncomfortable. However, there was no one in the room, and no hint as to where the sound may have come from.

With a surprising _clunk _that broke the silence, the elevator doors opened, revealing nothing but a stark white interior.

"What the–?" began Warren, but Xavier silenced him.

"They're asking us to follow…" said Xavier, "They want us to go in the lift,"

"What?" asked Warren with understandable confusion.

"He's right," said Jean, "I can sense it too…voices…they're telling us we're to go in the elevator."

"Well of course they are!" spluttered Warren, "Make us get the elevator, then send us plunging to our deaths!"

"No," said Xavier sharply, "These voices are _good_,"

There was a moment of silence where everyone took in what Xavier and Jean were suggesting. They had no reason to question what the Professor said; he had always led them on the right path before. But it seemed so obvious a trap…

"We're getting no further standing here," said Beast, "I say we take the elevator,"

Warren turned to Beast, mouth contorting in a hundred disbelieving comments, as if he almost couldn't decide which one to use, "Cyclops?" he asked finally, hoping for some support. He should have known it was a futile request.

"I'm with Marvel Girl," said Cyclops, giving a curt nod towards the redhead. She smiled back.

"Let's go," said Xavier, and he directed his wheelchair forward into the lift, followed shortly by Cyclops, Beast and Jean. Warren stood there gaping for a moment, before he finally gave in, muttering scathingly, "_Telepaths…_"

The doors closed, separating them from the strong light of the room they had just been in, left only with the cold glare of the elevator's lighting. Their collective breaths seemed to be held as Xavier pressed for the fiftieth floor, which he informed them was the 'throne room'. The lift gave a stomach churning judder, and slowly it began gliding smoothly upward.

"Remember," said Xavier as they continued their ascent, "Be wary of what you see up here, it could all be a lie,"

Minutes passed. Then, with another shudder they came to a halt, and the doors slid silently open.

In the middle of the room were three transparent cylindrical cells, suspended about a metre off the ground. In the middle one was Betsy Braddock, her face slack and unconscious. Standing in front of the cells was Blob, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Blob was already pounding his fist in anticipation.

* * *

The Earth looked as it always did from the windows of Asteroid M – a giant ball of blue interspersed with muddy green expanses and dirty white swirls. The observation deck, on which Magneto spent most of his time, allowed for excellent viewing of the world quietly revolving below, blissfully unaware that up above the rocky space station lair of the world's most wanted man was existing unchallenged. Though with the technology on the station, it was no surprise they had been here this long – neither eyes nor radar could see them. Magneto was particularly proud of that feature.

He turned away now from the huge windows and focused his attention on the three Plexiglas cells levitating above the deep abyss that separated his part of the deck from the entrance to the chamber. The cells contained three sleeping females, two no more than teenagers, the other a fully-grown and very attractive woman.

As Magneto watched, the girl on the left stirred. She had mid-length brown hair and a wide-eyed innocence the Master of Magnetism found intriguing. He could see as she took in her surroundings, noticing the view out to space from the windows, the utter darkness below the cell, and finally him; her mouth fell open, and he could just make out the gasp.

"Good day – er – Mindy, is it?" said Magneto, the smile on his face hidden in the shadows cast by the helmet he wore. The girl seemed too petrified to answer, so Magneto continued, "You're probably wondering where you are. Well, welcome to Asteroid M, the home of the Brotherhood of Mutants."

Eventually, the girl spoke, but at level where she was almost inaudible through the cell, "We're in space,"

"Smart girl," quipped Magneto, "How are you feeling Mindy?"

"My name is Amanda Exton," Mandy replied, "And I'm fine."

Magneto had not anticipated such a bold response from the girl – she had initially appeared much too nervous a creature.

"Excellent Amanda," Magneto said, "I wouldn't want our guests to not enjoy their time here,"

"Why…" began Mandy, "Why do you wear that thing?"

"What?" replied Magneto, again a little surprised.

"That helmety-thing," said Mandy.

Magneto laughed, "Ah, the helmet. It keeps me safe young Amanda. Safe from the likes of your friend Elisabeth here,"

"It blocks telepathy," grunted Betsy's voice from her own cell, and she shifted awkwardly.

"Psylocke," said Magneto, his expression now much less playful, "I'm glad you're finally awake,"

"Bugger off," said Betsy, "If you really wanted me conscious you could have got your crony Superpsycke to wake me. He seems to do everything else for you these days. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed you didn't think I was important enough for you to come get me yourself,"

"Why do it yourself when you can get others to do it for you?" said Magneto.

"A better question would be: why do it yourself when you're too much of a coward to do so?" snapped back Betsy, her voice and face filled with disgust, "You've become a hermit up here. Rumour is your team got a hiding from the X-Men. I thought you could manage to defeat even a cripple like Xavier,"

Mandy hoped that Betsy was being sarcastic, because she sure didn't like the way she was talking now.

"As you well know, Psylocke," replied Magneto, "It was our delaying of Xavier's team that allowed Superpsycke to discover the location of your team mates – and also your two precious companions you seem to have become so attached to,"

Mandy blinked, trying to comprehend the situation she was in. Out of the panoramic window behind Magneto she could see the Earth – the _Earth!_ – and beyond star speckled space. She was apparently the captive of the most wanted man on earth, and stuck in a cramped cylinder floating above what seemed a never-ending chasm. All of a sudden her mind ground to a halt, huge bubbles of anger and frustration rippling to the fore. Just how the hell did she end up here? What had she ever done to deserve this? It was more than likely she was about to join her parents in death, and all because she had let Betsy in that day. It wasn't fair. Betsy seemed to sense Mandy's new wave of annoyance, and threw her an understanding look; no psychic message came however.

"I wouldn't bother trying to communicate telepathically," sneered Magneto, "Forge made your cells from a transparent variety of the material my helmet is made out of – it blocks all psychic energy."

"Who's Forge?" asked Mandy curiously, more to Betsy than Magneto, but the latter replied:

"A mutant with the ability to invent anything he puts his mind to, within the boundaries of what's possible of course. He's been an associate of mine for sometime. He designed this space station, as well as cerebro. You know what that is?" Mandy shook her head, and Magneto continued, "It's Xavier's secret weapon, a machine that can amplify the powers of a telepath. Perhaps you don't realise the implications of that?" Again Mandy shook her head, "Well. Let's just say that, with cerebro, Xavier could control the minds of every person on the planet."

"Fortunately for the rest of us," cut in Betsy as Magneto was about to speak again, "Xavier has something this tyrant lacks: morals,"

Magneto gave a burst of laughter that echoed round the chamber, "You know the sad fact is you genuinely believe that, don't you Psylocke? If only you knew the truth,"

"Don't start telling tales Magneto," replied Besty coldly, "You're better than that,"

Magneto turned away to face the slowly revolving Earth, "You can ask him yourself soon. He should arrive here anytime now,"

Betsy's eyes narrowed, Mandy's gaped, and Marrow, unnoticed by any of them, stirred.

* * *

Blob charged, and the X-Men spread out to compensate, Angel taking flight in the echoing room, Cyclops and Beast flanking the gargantuan mutant, and Jean and Xavier moving swiftly out of Blob's path. Jean then turned and hurled a wave of telekinetic energy at him, knocking the great lump off balance – but this time he didn't fall.

As fast as a speeding bullet, Quicksilver sped away from his sister by the cells and launched a punch at Cyclops. Scott's reactions weren't the best, and the blow caught him in the chin, staggering him. Angel swooped to avenge his comrade however, and gave a sharp kick to Quicksilver's side. Scarlet Witch reacted instinctively, and released a jet of shimmering sparks from her hand, which only narrowly missed Angel's wings.

Beast was about to leap for Scarlet Witch but before he had a chance he felt a knee dig into his back and he howled in pain. Next thing he knew his furry mane was being wrenched back and he caught the glint of a knife out the corner of his eye. He heard Mystique cackle behind him but he moved fast enough to miss the first swipe of the knife, in the process leaving a chunk of his hair in the yellow-eyed woman's fist. Not wasting a second, she swept around and kicked Beast squarely in the chest, sending him flying into the cells…and yet somehow he hit the floor, missing them completely. Beast rubbed his head and looked up at the cells floating above, deeply confused. He had no time to think however, as Mystique came at him again with her knife.

Trapping the Blob was proving harder than expected and Jean's telekinesis wasn't coping well. She was trying to wall him in with invisible psychic barriers, but to no avail, as he broke through them before she could properly secure them. Then, unexpectedly, she was catapulted off her feet by what she realised was one of Scott's optic blasts. She hit the ground hard, dazed and hurt. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire and her head was pounding.

"Careful Marvel Girl!" shouted Xavier, who was heading towards the throne at the back of the room. "I don't think Cyclops knows what he's doing,"

Jean looked up at Scott and saw the Professor was right – he had just blasted Beast, and now Mystique was standing over their blue teammate, a knife held aloft.

"No!" shouted Jean as Mystique's knife plunged downward, and she stretched out her hand, releasing an unrestrained blast of psychic energy that slammed Mystique into the opposite wall. She fell to the floor, unmoving and – Jean quickly checked telepathically – unconscious.

Xavier reached the throne, his suspicions guiding him, and closed his eyes, feeling out with his telepathy, trying to look beyond the illusion. It was like trying to spot the differences in a fraudulent copy of a famous painting, locating and exposing what was wrong so the truth could be ascertained. Time seemed to slow as he searched, and he was only dimly aware of Mystique flying into the wall behind him, or Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's double assault against Angel, of Cyclops continued confusion…and there it was! Tiny but significant – Mastermind shouldn't have made Cyclops attack Jean, the poor boy's mind didn't like it and it smelt a rat, and that miniscule doubt led Xavier straight to the culprit.

Mastermind knew Xavier had broken past his spell, and when Xavier opened his eyes to see the black clad man standing behind the throne, Mastermind spoke only one word:

"How?"

"You're illusions have grown in strength since we first met," replied Xavier, smiling, "You even managed to trick my telepathy into believing coming up here was the way forward. But you shouldn't underestimate any individual's will. It's proved your downfall Jason," Before Mastermind could speak again, Xavier attacked him with the full might of his mind, sending the practically defenceless man crumpling to the floor, in a deep coma. Looking down at the fallen man, Xavier, muttered, "You went too far,"

The Professor now turned his attention to the battle unfolding, and as he had feared, the cells had vanished with Mastermind's illusion – Psylocke and the girls had never been here at all. Only Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were still fighting; Jean had succeeded at last in trapping Blob, and Mystique was incapacitated. Superpsycke and Magneto were nowhere to be seen, both a good and bad thing. The X-Men weren't doing brilliantly however. Jean had not yet got back on her feet following Cyclop's blast, and Angel lay groaning on the floor, one arm laying in an awkward position – it looked broken. The remaining three were all trying to fend off Quicksilver's blindingly fast swipes and Scarlet Witch's chaotic energy bolts, which seemed to have entirely random effects: Beast had just been hit by one, and now he was rolling around on the floor in apparent agony, his fur rapidly turning grey.

Xavier did what he could – he evened the odds. Stretching out with his telepathy, he began to slow down Quicksilver's metabolism, until he became slow enough for his pupils to subdue. Eventually, as Xavier's tampering took effect, Cyclops caught Quicksilver with a well-aimed beam and the thin youth toppled over. Xavier quickly triggered his mind into a similar catatonic state to Mastermind's.

Now only Scarlet Witch was left, and after witnessing her brother's defeat, her attacks became more random and she begun to fire bolt after bolt of mysterious energy into the room at large. Realising the peril of the situation, Xavier attempted to close down Scarlet Witch's mind, but without success; she seemed to have some quite developed mental defences.

One of the bolts hit the roof and it creaked ominously, another flew at a window and it shattered into a million pieces, and then another one hit the roof and it cracked like an egg, shards of plaster falling down on the dodging X-Men. Luckily no larger pieces of debris fell at that time, and then they all realised why – Jean was holding it up with her telekinesis, her face tense with the strain.

"I can't do this for long, guys!" shouted Jean, her voice nearly breaking, sweat drenching her face.

Xavier had just begun to panic when the doors of the elevator clunked and slid open. His face pulled in an expression that was half excitement and half terror, Bobby Drake leapt out the elevator and surveyed the situation. Scarlet Witch paid little attention to this new arrival however, and continued blasting the other X-Men with her energy bolts. Bobby quickly realised who the enemy was and, with surprising agility, he raced towards his comrades. Without hesitating, Bobby let loose with a jet of white spray from his hands, a spray that engulfed Scarlet Witch – and when it had cleared there were no more energy bolts, for the red clad woman was frozen solid in a block of shining ice.

For a moment the remainder of the X-Men were stunned – it had all happened so quickly – but after a minute Beast began to laugh heartily, "Well done Bobby! Iceman indeed!"

Xavier beamed at Bobby, speaking to him telepathically: _Maybe I underestimated you. You'll make an X-Man yet._

Their joy was broken by a yelp from Jean, and suddenly they all remembered she was keeping the roof up. Immediately Bobby directed his ice-making powers upwards at the ceiling and a second later it was covered in a thick shimmering sheet. Jean's sigh of relief filled the room, and she hobbled up. Scott bounded over to her.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Jean!" said Scott, "I thought I was shooting at Scarlet Witch. Are you ok?"

"I have a splitting headache," Jean said with a smile, wiping blood from her mouth – overextending psychic powers always caused nosebleeds, "But you hardly scratched me, slim," She punched him jovially on the arm. Scott looked very relieved.

"What about Warren?" asked Jean, but the blonde haired young man was already getting up, his arm miraculously healed.

"That's weird…" said Warren, "It hurt like a bitch a second ago. Now it's fine…weird,"

Xavier frowned, both relieved and curious as to this new ability of Warren's, making a mental note to look into it when they got back home. Now though they had to concentrate on the matter at hand – the majority of the Brotherhood may have been defeated but they still didn't have Betsy or the girls.

"We have to split up," said Xavier, "Psylocke could be anywhere in the building, as could Magneto,"

Before they had a chance to even consider the possibility further, the edge of the circular room began to glow a fluorescent blue, getting brighter and brighter until, with a loud _zap_ it flashed, blinding them all.

When they once again could see, they were no longer in the citadel's throne room. Instead they were in the middle of a similarly shaped platform at the end of a long metal corridor. It was unnaturally cold, and the air smelt old, recycled. At the other end of the corridor were bulky steel double doors, and numerous others were spread out along the wall. None had any handles, but each had a small keypad next to them.

"Where are we?" asked Bobby, looking around.

"Good question," replied Hank.

"_Oh_ _my God!_" shouted Jean suddenly, pointing to behind them. They all turned to see a wide, curved window looking out at nothing but black expanse, speckled with tiny white dots, "We're in space!"

There was a long silence before anyone spoke again, all of them entranced by the endless plane of darkness. Finally Xavier cleared his throat and said quietly, "Magneto had spoken briefly of plans to construct a facility in space, but I never thought…"

"However he did it, he did it well," said Hank, "It can't have been picked up by anyone on Earth, or else we would know about it,"

"I think then it's important we reveal it to those on Earth," said Xavier, "Beast, can I entrust you with finding whatever machine is hiding this place, and deactivating it?"

Hank nodded, and made for the first door.

Xavier continued, "In the meantime, I think we should try and find Betsy. Whatever this place is, however we got here, I have a feeling she's here also."

"Why don't we try that door at the end?" asked Bobby.

"As good a plan as any," concurred Jean.

"Alright," said Xavier, "But be careful X-Men, be very careful,"

* * *

Magneto smiled, "Yes, I laid a little trap for your precious mentor." Betsy's grim expression remained defiant and unbelieving.

"I'm sure he'll keep a step ahead," said Betsy stubbornly.

"I doubt it," laughed Magneto, "I've already had confirmation from the team on Earth that Xavier's aircraft has reached our Savage Land base. That was quite a while ago now,"

"Hah – I don't believe you."

"Believe what you wish, Psylocke, but they'll be here soon, I assure you. I know Xavier too well. You see, he knew where the Brotherhood was based long before you confirmed it for him. Our first encounter with his team in 2006 left him thinking twice before taking us on, and it has prevented him from stopping us ever since. But by capturing you, Charles' conscious will be provoked into action.

"Of course, Mastermind and the rest of the Brotherhood lie in wait at the Savage Land. Xavier will walk right into their clutches, and then he and his _children_ will be sent here,"

Betsy had to admit the plan was good. She also couldn't deny that she too thought Xavier would act as Magneto predicted. It didn't bode well, and she begun to lose hope. If only she could assuage Mandy's own despair; she could sense it through the cell walls but could not contact her.

With an almighty screeching commotion the double doors behind Betsy exploded apart in a haze of bright red, causing all of them to look round in horror, and for Superpsycke to emerge out of the shadows in the corner of the room. Standing in the doorway was the X-men – Cyclops at the fore, with Xavier, Angel, Jean and a boy Betsy didn't recognise next to him. Betsy's heart lifted, and glancing over at Mandy, she could see that hers did too.

"Expecting us?" said Angel with that dashing half smile on his face. He caught Betsy's eye and winked. Betsy's smile doubled.

"Actually, yes," said Magneto. His voice was dark and growling now, an ominous sign, "I was just filling Psylocke in on a few choice truths that prove you're not the saint you make out,"

"What is this place, Erik?" said Xavier, ignoring the other man's comments.

"Asteroid M," replied Magneto, "A hidden sanctuary that has allowed me to perfectly allude the authorities and keep a watchful eye on my organisation's activities. No one on Earth is even aware it is even here,"

"How?" said Xavier sharply.

"That's secret I'm afraid. Forge isn't keen on the nature of his creations being revealed for anyone to know,"

"Forge built Asteroid M?"

"Oh yes, he's been working with me for some time. He developed the teleportation-ring technology that connects us to the Savage Land citadel, among other things,"

"Well I hate to break it to you, but it'll all be over soon," said Warren, "We're here to stop you,"

"I look forward to seeing you try," said Magneto, and his laughter echoed round the great chamber.

Elsewhere, Beast found himself amongst wall-to-wall machinery, lights pulsing and screen's flashing everywhere. He was in a narrow room dominated by a huge control panel filled with an array of buttons and switches.

"Fascinating," he muttered as he approached a machine marked Wyngarde Shield 2.0. He saw on the monitor above an outline of what he guessed was the space station, with a number of arrows sprawling off it leading to numerous numbers and data.

"Hands off fur ball," came a deep voice from behind Beast. He turned to see a tall, dark-skinned man with a ponytail and goatee beard pointing a dauntingly large gun at him.

"Good to see you again Forge," said Beast, "It's been too long,"

"Shut up," snapped Forge, his brow furrowed, "That was always your problem Henry. You talk too much,"

"Remarkable place you've got here," said Beast, "What's this beauty do?" He pointed towards the Wyngarde Shield machine.

"That keeps us safe up here," said Forge – Beast knew he couldn't resist boasting about his inventions, "It basically makes the asteroid invisible to both the naked eye and radar. Jason Wyngarde – Mastermind – inspired its creation, hence the name,"

"Fascinating!" said Beast, a touch sarcastically, "What would happen if I, say, pressed this button?" He moved his hand towards a big blue button near the monitor.

"I'd blast you off this rock," said Forge darkly.

"I thought as much!" said Beast, and he jabbed the button hard. Forge roared and shot a fiery orange blast at the blue man – but Beast leapt clear out of the way and the machine behind him exploded. Alarms starting triggering all around the room as acrid smoke poured out from the wreckage of the Wyngarde Shield.

Forge shouted in fury and fired at Beast again, but the X-man once again avoided the blow and another machine burst into flames. As smoke began to choke the room, Beast hung low and kept out of sight behind a large computer console. He heard Forge shout his name and cough a moment later; the air was dark now with the foul-smelling smog.

Suddenly the tall man came striding into view, gun raised, and Beast moved instinctively. Grabbing the console for support, he swung his legs upward and struck Forge hard in the midriff. The gun fired, destroying the computer console, and Forge fell backwards, knocking his head on a corner of a display monitor. At the same time, the explosion of the console threw Beast sideways. The other man was unmoving, blood leaking from the back of his head. Without warning the whole room shook like it was in the middle of an earthquake and yet more alarm sirens blared.

* * *

William Stryker stalked down the corridor unusually fast, rubbing sleep from his eyes and coughing irritably. The artificial lighting above was cold and weak, leaving pools of shadow along the path he came. As he reached the door of the reconnaissance room a soldier in full uniform saluted. Stryker barely noticed him. The room inside was dark, lit only by the dozens of computer screens in front of which sat the technicians. An officer joined Stryker and walked him over to one of the screens as he explained the situation.

"It appeared barely five minutes ago. Before we were just picking up nothing, empty space, and then it appeared out of nowhere. Some sort of artificial asteroid, the size of a small town."

"What's so special about that?" barked Stryker.

"Well sir," replied the officer, "It appears to have lifeforms. And we've received a rudimentary message," He pointed to the nearest screen, which was displaying a message that they seemed to be receiving again and again, on loop. Squinting, Stryker read it:

_Magneto is here_

After a few moments to take it's meaning in, Stryker smiled a cruel, self-satisfied smile. He clapped the officer on the back and issued his orders:

"Activate the Sentinels. All of them. They can cope with space flight. And instruct them to destroy that asteroid, completely. We'll get rid of Magneto once and for all,"

The officer hesitated for a second, and then said, "Very good sir, I'll get on to it immediately,"

William Stryker was thrilled. This was the end of Brotherhood, and hopefully, very soon, the end of the mutant problem entirely.

* * *

Beast arrived in the main chamber to find the X-Men and Magneto on the brink of violence. Xavier and Magneto were trading insults as the others looked on, and the prisoners hung perilously over a black pit in their tube-like cells. Beast had managed to send a message to Earth that should hopefully attract some attention, working on the theory that possibly the only way to defeat Magneto might be for some higher authority to apprehend him.

_Is it done?_ asked Xavier telepathically to Hank, even while arguing with Magneto.

Possessing no psychic powers, Beast simply thought: _Yes, and I have contacted Earth_

_Excellent_ replied Xavier, _Be prepared to grab the prisoners and run back to where we came. It's a teleporter._

_O.K., will do_ thought Beast, and then his attention turned to Magneto, who was shouting, though now not at Xavier, but at Supepsycke.

"Why didn't you foresee the plan failing?" he snarled, "You are meant to see the future!"

"Those powers are still developing!" whimpered Superpsycke apologetically. Magneto's anger with him seemed to cause a great deal of hurt, "I'm sorry, my lord!"

"Stop apologising, you pathetic idiot," roared Magneto, "And KILL THEM!"

With these words, everyone seemed to explode into action. Magneto levitated upwards, and with a metallic whir used his powers to wrench up his throne from its base and hurled it towards the X-Men. Cyclops blasted it away from them, but Magneto only threw it back. Angel took flight and made for the cells, while Beast leapt across the chasm to assail Superpsycke. Iceman and Jean stood in protection of Xavier, and fended off Magneto's bombardments of various pieces of debris that he tore up from the room.

Angel found the cells impervious, and he tried breaking the Plexiglas, but with no such luck. He noticed a series of buttons at the top, and in desperation pressed them all one by one. Upon pressing the fifth, the bottom of Betsy's cell fell away, and several screams filled the room as she dropped into the darkness. Angel dived, and like his heroic namesake, scooped up Betsy in his arms. As he soared back upwards, she kissed him full on the lips, and for a moment he forgot quite where he was.

"My guardian angel," said Betsy as her face pulled away from his. Warren winked in reply and smiled.

Angel placed Betsy gently down next to Jean as two more screams reached his ears – the bottoms of the two girl's cells had somehow fallen away as well.

Mandy screamed like she had never done before, and her heart was beating so fast it almost became a blur. She was soaked in pure terror, and knew in that moment she was going to die, more than when she had faced the suited men from S.T.R.I.K.E., more than when she had been onboard the _H.M.S. Purity_, more than when Lady Mastermind had attacked her on Muir Island. It was all going to end, very soon, all the struggles and triumphs of her life would be worthless, but maybe she would see her parents again…

She felt strong arms wrap around her and her descent came to an abrupt halt. A beating sound in the air told her the arms belonged to the winged man who had rescued Betsy, and she looked up into his face. She realised that he was possibly the most beautiful man she had ever seen, his features perfect, his eyes deep blue and his shoulder length hair a golden yellow. He gave her an encouraging smile.

The angelic man put Mandy down next to Betsy, who hugged her. She noticed that the red haired woman, who Mandy guessed had similar powers to Superpsycke, had apparently saved Marrow. Mandy felt very relieved and clung to Betsy. They had little time to reflect on their rescue however, as the conflict was growing increasingly heated.

Beast was no match for Superpsycke, and he was thrown again and again into the observation window, until he could barely feel the pain. Then the abuse stopped abruptly, and he was left slumped against the transparent barrier. He felt oddly numb and apathetic, as if he could not care whether he lived or died; all he wanted to do was sleep. Drifting off, a strange and fearsome sight greeting his eyes, and shook him from out of his dream state. Down below he could see the partially cloud obscured shape of North America, but something was different – it was like there was dirt on the window. A number of black dots were growing larger against the pale white and green, like a swarm of flies. Beast had a nasty feeling he knew what they were.

"Take the girls and get out of here!" shouted Xavier to Betsy and Angel as Magneto continued to assault them.

"Angel can take them, I'm needed here," Betsy shouted back in reply, "You can't take Magneto on your own!"

"It's not Magneto I'm worried about," said Xavier, and then he screamed in pain, his eyes tightly screwed up, clasping his head with both hands. Betsy didn't need to ask what was happening, she need only look across the chasm – Superpsycke was staring straight at them, his gaze fixed.

_My God_, thought Betsy, _to even hurt the professor using telepathy would require an unprecedented level of power…_

Then she noticed Jean had joined in the fight, and both she and Xavier were fighting back against Superpsycke, who remained unflinching. Magneto meanwhile was ripping pieces of the flooring up and throwing them across the gap at huge speeds. It was all Iceman and Cyclops could do to stop them hitting the X-Men, but they was beginning to be overwhelmed.

Mandy, although freed from the cell, was still panicking. Magneto wanted to _kill_ them, end their lives, snuff them out like meaningless candles. Meanwhile, Charles Xavier, the red haired girl and now apparently Betsy were having a staring context with Superpsycke, and a pretty painful one at that so it seemed. Across the chasm, she noticed blood trickling from Superpsycke's nose.

Then her terror doubled.

Huge, human shaped robots were flying past the window. And it wasn't just one or two, but hundreds, thousands even. They seemed to be surrounding the asteroid.

The whole room shook as if hit by a tidal wave. Then it shook again, and again, and again, a booming sound thundering out each time like a battering ram against a door. The robots were _attacking _the station! Debris began falling of its own accord, and yet Magneto's assault was not relenting, the sight of the destructive machines only increasing his fervour. A particularly brutal shard of metal came flying at the ice boy too quickly and struck him on the arm, twisting him around and down to the floor. Magneto took this as an excuse to throw everything he had at them, ripping off huge sheets of metal even as further explosions rocked the asteroid more violently.

There was virtually no one left defending them now. Mandy looked at Marrow, who looked back, and understanding passed between them. They may be young, they may be inexperienced, but it was up to them now to resolve the situation. Together they stepped forward, took a deep breath, and entered the fray.

Marrow jerked her arm forward, and a spear of sharp bone burst threw her skin near her wrist, splattering Mandy with blood but shooting like a harpoon at Magneto. It narrowly avoided the cloaked tyrant, but Marrow wasn't about to give in, and fired another shard of bone from the other arm.

Cupping her hands, Mandy tried to remember what she had learned of her powers back home. Try as she might though, she couldn't get the faces of her parents out of her mind, and no sparks appeared between her hands. She began to panic, hating herself for not being able to use her powers when she needed him. Come to think of it though, what exactly were her powers? What did these sparks do? If only she could get some to appear, maybe she'd find out…

She heard Magneto grunt in pain and she looked up – Marrow had finally hit her target, piercing the tyrant's shoulder. His onslaught ceased as he doubled up with the pain and Mandy knew now was the time. She closed her eyes and thought of her parents, thought of how she would make them proud, and she felt it; a tickle on her skin that swept up her wrist and fingers as if from a wandering strand of silk. When she opened her eyes a shimmering ball of bright blue energy was suspended between her palms, shooting off sparks that danced around her fingers before vanishing. Instinct guiding her, she thrust her hands forward and the energy orb flew out towards Magneto like a homing missile.

Mandy stood agog as her attack hit Magneto and burst into a shower of blue bolts that zipped all around him. He sprung up as is shocked with a thousand volts, an expression of agony on his face. Then he crumpled pathetically to the ground, his helmet slipping off and tumbling loudly into the abyss below. A smiled ripped across Mandy's face and she felt jubilation beyond measure – finally it was over, and she had helped bring things to their conclusion.

The rest of the events on Asteroid M were somewhat a blur for Mandy. She was still caught up in a wave of ecstasy when Betsy grabbed her and pulled her out the door. Then they were all running down a long corridor that was shaking, cracking up, falling apart as they ran, and the world was fiery and yet cold. She saw the winged man fly past with the furry blue guy in his arms. Xavier was no longer in his wheelchair, but being carried by the man in the visor. Before she knew it they had reached the end of the corridor and people were shouting, then a light flashed all around them and they were somewhere new entirely – a large, round chamber with a throne. After that her memory cut out, her last thought being the realisation she hadn't slept for over forty-eight hours and how she was now very, very tired…

As the sentinels gradually blew Asteroid M apart, on board a lonely figure surrounded by rubble stirred. The fires burning all around him were reflected in his cold blue eyes. His lower face was heavily blood stained. Slowly, he became aware of the situation and his focus returned. His head swimming, Superpsycke heaved himself up and stumbled over to his fallen master. With what little strength he had left, he hauled Magneto up. Superpsycke was drained from his gruelling battle with the other telepaths, weaker than he had felt for a long, long time, but he had to try, both his life and his master's depended on it. Focusing with every last scrap of reserve, Superpsycke concentrated on their destination, and unnoticed a new fire begun to flicker in the room, quite separate from those caused by the Sentinels. A second later though they had vanished in a flash of light.

On Earth, Xavier watched as the asteroid, now visible from the surface, finally exploded in a spectacular fireworks display. Somehow though, Xavier had the feeling that Magneto was still alive. In fact he almost sensed him…out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash in the distant jungle, but paid no heed – the sentinels were descending on the citadel. One glided down through the hole in the roof and alighted in front of them. It was absolutely colossal – bigger than Xavier had imagined – and eerily humanoid. The head was particularly creepy, with large glowing eyes, no nose, and a black gap for a mouth. When it spoke, the voice came out like a booming foghorn, as if there was a man inside speaking into a megaphone.

"Nice place you have here, Professor," came the familiar sound of William Stryker.

"We have the Brotherhood for you, Mr Secretary, all ready for detaining," said Xavier, feigning politeness, "I do hope you're not actually in that contraption,"

They heard Stryker's tinny laugh, "No, Xavier, not quite. I'm speaking through the unit from our base in California, a very handy modification. This is Trask's latest model,"

"I pray you know what you're doing," said Xavier, "Maybe we have restored at least some of your faith in mutantkind?"

Again, Stryker laughed, "I don't know how you were involved in this Xavier, but when I find out, I doubt I'll have any reason to change my opinion on your kind,"

With that, the sentinel took off, taking Quicksilver and Mastermind with it. More came down and took away the other Brotherhood members as Xavier's team returned to the jet. Nobody spoke; exhaustion hanging over them like a rainy cloud. Poor Mandy had collapsed into sleep, and was now in the arms of Angel, walking close to Betsy. Xavier was simply thankful that they had all got out of the situation alive. Beast was the most badly injured, and required both Cyclops and Jean to help him limp down the spiralling stairs of the tower. He had taken quite a battering from Superpsycke, who incidentally was another person Xavier was sure had not perished on Asteroid M. He knew that boy's purpose was greater than to die on a cold space station.

Whatever the outcome of today though, Xavier was certain on one thing: this wouldn't be the last they saw of either Magneto, or, with an even worse churn of his stomach, the towering sentinels.


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Stay on your guard, Superpsycke," instructed Magneto to his companion, who lay panting and wide-eyed against a tall tree. The teleport had unfortunately woken Magneto up in a bad mood.

"My lord…I am so tired…" breathed Superpsycke, "My head…"

"You can rest soon," snapped Magneto, peering through the foliage towards the sentinels that were now landing around the citadel, "This jungle is dangerous, I need you to be ready,"

"I'm weak," said Superpsycke, quietly, "I _need_ to recover,"

"Understandably," replied Magneto, "But you are most certainly not weak, you're just tired. The fact Xavier required help to defeat you is testimony to your superiority. Xavier claims to be the world's most accomplished telepath, but you have proven him wrong today. As I have told you many times, you are a god among insects,"

Superpsycke looked for moment at his master, but didn't reply. He bowed his head and focused on regaining his composure.

"So Xavier has betrayed us to the sapiens?" mused Magneto, "And allied himself with the sentinels – no doubt to secure amnesty for him and his _children_,"

"Didn't you say –" begun Superpsycke, still trying to gather himself, "Didn't you say Xavier was against the sentinels from the beginning?"

"That's what I thought. Apparently even Charles is willing to betray his own people for his precious brood,"

"We have only one option left to us…"

"Yes," said Magneto quietly, crushing an abnormally large fly, "I didn't want to have to ever put it into operation, but desperate times…"

Superpsycke straightened up, adjusting his cloak and stretching. It was stupidly humid in the Savage Land jungle; he was sweating more than he had been bleeding earlier. Magneto did not seem very bothered, his gaze fixed on the black jet rising up into the air across the lake.

"Come on," he said to Superpsycke, "We have a lot to do before the year is out. This place is now forsaken,"

Superpsycke gathered his last reserves of energy and strode over to place a hand on Magneto's shoulder. There was a flash, and they were gone.

* * *

The X-Men will return in:

**Manhunt**


End file.
